A California city declared it will not be a sanctuary for illegal immigrants amid President Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations, dealing a blow to Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom’s efforts to “Trump-proof” the state from federal immigration enforcement.
The seven-member city council, all Republicans, in Huntington Beach, which is about 37 miles southeast of Los Angeles, voted Tuesday night to approve the initiative brought by Mayor Pat Burns to declare Huntington Beach a “non-sanctuary city for illegal immigration for the prevention of crime,” according to a news release.
“The intent of this resolution is to deliberately sidestep the governor’s efforts to subvert the good work of federal immigration authorities and to announce the city’s cooperation with the federal government, the Trump administration, and Border Czar Tom Homan’s work,” the council said. “This new city policy and declaration are common sense, supports our law enforcement, and advances public safety throughout the city.
“What the governor is doing does not. Neither the governor nor the state legislature with the passage of laws may interfere with the city’s voluntary cooperation with federal authorities, nor cause or compel the city to violate federal laws such as Title 8 Section 1324 for the harboring of illegal immigrants.”
The declaration came after Newsom and California Democrats reportedly reached a $50 million agreement to shore up state and local legal defenses against Trump administration policies. Half of the money would go to fending off any mass deportation plans from the new administration.
The deal includes $25 million that Newsom proposed for the state Department of Justice to fight the federal government in court shortly after Trump’s reelection in November, plus $25 million more proposed by state Senate leaders to defend illegal immigrants against deportation, detention, and wage theft. The state Senate proposal would fund grants for legal nonprofits and immigration support centers.
“In California in particular, fighting crime is difficult enough with the relaxed criminal laws and lack of enforcement,” Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates said in the news release. “The state should get out of the way of local law enforcement, stop handcuffing our police officers and California’s cities, and get back to the business of protecting innocent citizens.
“Emphatically, the state should not take a position of violating federal immigration laws or encouraging cities to violate federal immigration laws.”
Newsmax reached out to Newsom’s office for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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