Gov. Jerry Brown made good on the threat to turn California into the first ‘sanctuary state’ yesterday when he signed a historic bill from the state’s legislature.
The law does a number of things, but the most pronounced is the fact that it limits the ability of state and local police to cooperate with federal authorities.
So basically California just gave ICE a giant middle finger. It also offers legal protections for illegal immigrants — including those who’ve committed crimes.
At first glance this is infuriating, but then again California might have just shot itself in the foot.
If you’re an illegal immigrant living in fear of being brought to justice, you might just hop on the first train to the place with the big welcome sign out front.
Which means California is about to be flooded with lots of folks, further putting an economic drain on a state that’s already teetering financially.
But liberals at the state capitol don’t care much, so long as they’re getting plenty of new votes to keep them in office.
Here’s more from Yahoo…
California became the first “sanctuary state” for undocumented immigrants Friday, a decision criticized by the Trump administration which believes the move will compromise security.
California’s governor, Democrat Jerry Brown, signed the landmark legislation — Senate Bill 54 (SB54) — which grants better protections to people who are in the US without permission, including those who have committed crimes.
It also limits cooperation between local police forces and federal authorities in operations to track down undocumented immigrants.
The legislation, which will come into effect on January 1, 2018, is part of a series of laws which protect the almost 3 million undocumented immigrants living in California — most of whom are from Mexico and Central America.
Brown insisted in his signing statement the measure will not “prevent or prohibit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the Department of Homeland Security from doing their own work in any way” — but it will stop local authorities from assisting.
“They are free to use their own considerable resources to enforce federal immigration law in California,” he wrote, adding that the new legislation will not deny ICE access to prisons.
But in a statement, ICE acting director Tom Homan responded: “The governor is simply wrong.”
