A city in San Diego county has become the first one to join the fight against California's sanctuary state law. The Escondido City Council voted last night to support a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department against California.
Escondido Mayor Sam Abed and Councilman John Masson said the action taken by the city council had nothing to do with immigration and everything with protecting the public. Abed said the laws passed by Gov Jerry Brown and the Democratic-led state legislature were making California cities unsafe.
SB 54, the law passed by California's legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown last September, prevented state and local authorities from assisting federal immigration agents and informing them in cases when illegal immigrants who faced deportation were released from jail.
“Your Sacramento is now politically, ethically and morally corrupt,” Abed said. “Gov. Brown, I promised you a year ago we would sue the state” if Senate Bill 54, which is at the heart of the federal governments lawsuit, became law."
The Escondido City Council delivered on the mayor's promise Wednesday, voting 4-1 in favor of filing a legal brief in favor of the U.S. government's lawsuit against the state's sanctuary laws. It's the first such action taken by a San Diego County city.
San Diego County's Board of Supervisors is expected to also discuss the issue in a closed session on April 17th.
Several cities across the Southland have fought back against SB 54 in various ways - including Los Alamitos who voted last month to exempt its city from the state law.