Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., plans to keep California's resources away from President-elect Donald Trump's deportation plans, maintaining that the federal government should be controlling the border.
"There's an important distinction here. No state's government — not Texas, not California, not any state in the nation — has a constitutional authority to impose federal immigration law. That is the responsibility of the federal government," Padilla told CBS' "Face the Nation."
"Let the federal government do the federal government's job, but have state and local officials do the state and local officials' job. There doesn't have to be a conflict unless that's what Trump wants," Padilla added.
California Senate Bill 54, a 2017 law that prohibits state and local law enforcement from using resources to help federal immigration enforcement, could possibly lead to this conflict. Trump border czar Tom Homan warned that any local law enforcement that refuses to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would be federally prosecuted.
"Some states like Texas want to push the envelope and try to find a way to assist, but there's no obligation to do so," Padilla said.
California will not "utilize state and local resources to do the federal government's job for them," Padilla added.
"California is the most populous state in the nation, the most diverse state in the nation, home to more immigrants than any state in the nation.
"The last thing you want to do is have immigrants who are victims of crime afraid to come forward to report the crime. The last thing you want is immigrants who may be witnesses to crime be afraid to come forward and share any information they have in the investigation and prosecution of crimes."
Jeremy Frankel ✉
Jeremy Frankel is a Newsmax writer reporting on news and politics.
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