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A California city near the Mexican border has had enough of the state’s openness toward illegal immigrants — now taking the state’s sanctuary laws to court.
El Cajon, led by Republican mayor Bill Wells, just filed a lawsuit against the state’s sanctuary laws after its city council earlier in the week voted to pursue litigation. California has a law limiting law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
“This might be one of the most important days of my life,” Wells said at a press conference.
That law was left intact in 2020 by the Supreme Court, but the lawsuit follows a new legal argument. The state’s laws giving benefits to illegal immigrants — such as offering driver’s licenses and workplace protections — amount to a felony of federal law when a person “encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States,” the complaint said.
The America First Policy Institute filed the complaint in San Diego Superior Court on the city’s behalf. The institute’s Richard Lawson served in the Trump administration prior to joining the group.
Action is needed, the complaint said, because local police are exposed to federal criminal liability for turning a blind eye to immigration offenses in following California’s rules protecting illegal immigrants.
“What law should our police officers follow? Should they follow the laws of the United States of America or should they follow the laws of the state of California?” Wells said.
Wells and Councilmember Steve Goble argued that El Cajon officers have been restrained from doing their jobs and protecting the community. For example, the Department of Homeland Security asked the city last year to help do welfare checks on unaccompanied children in the city. The state attorney general shut down that request, citing state sanctuary law.
“I shouldn’t have been surprised but I was when the state said, ‘No, you cannot do welfare checks on children,’” Goble said.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta dismissed the lawsuit as one of “endless attempts to lie and gaslight the public.”
“Here’s the truth: anyone, regardless of immigration status, who commits a crime can be held accountable under California law,” Bonta, a Democrat, said in a statement. “SB 54 has been upheld in court again and again, and we’re prepared to defend it from a baseless attack once more.”
The city of El Cajon has previously been at the forefront of immigration issues in the state. Wells has acknowledged his residents don’t feel safe because of the flood of illegal border crossers in his city.
“We see the massive amounts of violence that’s happening, a lot from the immigrant situation, but a lot from the homeless situation as well,” Wells told The Post, adding: “People are frightened and I do believe they’re arming themselves more.”
Wells also has railed against county-level sanctuary policies, such as a proposal by San Diego County that would partner with Mexico to expand legal support for immigrants facing deportation.
Other local governments, particularly some law enforcement, have expressed exasperation over their hands being tied by the state’s sanctuary law.
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