California becomes ‘sanctuary state’ as governor signs bill

Article publisher: 
Breitbart
Article date: 
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Article category: 
National Issues
Medium
Article Body: 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Jerry Brown signed “sanctuary state” legislation Thursday that extends protections for immigrants living in the United States illegally — a move that gives the nation’s most populous state another tool to fight President Donald Trump.

Brown’s signature means that police will be barred from asking people about their immigration status...

California is home to an estimated 2.3 million immigrations without legal authorization.

“These are uncertain times for undocumented Californians and their families... bringing a measure of comfort to those families who are now living in fear every day,” Brown said in statement.

The Trump administration said the bill will make California more dangerous.

The state “has now codified a commitment to returning criminal aliens back onto our streets, which undermines public safety, national security, and law enforcement,” Devin O’Malley, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, said in a statement.

The measure came in response to widespread fear in immigrant communities following Trump’s election...

Democrats hope blocking police from cooperating will limit the reach of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers...

De Leon’s bill cleared the Legislature with support only from Democrats. Republicans said it will protect criminals and make it harder for law enforcement to keep people safe.

The bill, SB54, originally would have severely restricted the authority of police officers to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. At Brown’s insistence, it was scaled back to allow cooperation in jails.

Police and sheriff’s officials, including jail officers, will still be able to work with federal immigration authorities if a person has been convicted of one of about 800 crimes, mostly felonies and misdemeanors that can be charged as felonies. But they will be barred from transferring immigrants to federal authorities if their rap sheet includes only minor offenses.

The changes convinced the California police chiefs association to drop its opposition, while sheriffs — elected officials who run jails — remained opposed. ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan has condemned the measure, saying California is prioritizing politics over public safety....

The measure was dubbed a “sanctuary state” bill because it sought to expand so-called sanctuary city policies that have long been in place in some of California’s biggest cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Brown and de Leon have said the bill does not give safe harbor to immigrants, particularly after the concessions Brown demanded.