California’s fight with Trump

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — The Republican Board of Supervisors in Orange County has voted to join the federal lawsuit against California’s sanctuary law.

Last week, Los Alamitos opted itself out of the law.

It appears a trend is developing to resist the law as several other cities are talking about joining the suit or opting out.

The sanctuary law limits local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Inmates in county jails identified for deportation were held for ICE agents rather than releasing them into the community. That hold stopped when the sanctuary city law was passed.

In response, Orange County also moved to improve communication with federal agents by publishing — online — the inmates’ release dates.

At a raucous board meeting on Tuesday, the Orange County crowd went wild with flags and signs showing strong support for joining the lawsuit.

The city of Santa Ana said it will do the same.

This follows Los Alamitos last week, voting to exempt itself from the sanctuary law.

“The California attorney general along with Democrats in Sacramento believe they can ignore any federal law they want, let’s see what they do if a city decides to ignore its state law,” said Republican State Chairman, Jim Brulte.

Fearing other cities may join the resistance, Attorney General Xavier Becerra issued a warning. He told Fox News the law is the law.

“We want to make sure that every jurisdiction including orange county understands what state law requires of the people and subdivisions of California,” he said.

This resistance has intensified the on-going battle between the Trump Administration and California.

The city and county of San Diego remain on the sidelines. The county has no policy regarding the sanctuary law, joining the federal lawsuit or the census controversy.

Those issues, we’re told, will be discussed in closed session on April 17.

While we await the county’s official position, we should note that Sheriff’ Bill Gore has continuously cooperated with federal agents. Mayor Kevin Faulconer said San Diego is not a sanctuary city, but a welcoming city, looking to advance the social and economic integration of immigrants and refugees.