At least there’s one city in the state of California that has its priorities in order and has taken a stand against the forced sanctuary status. On Monday, the Los Alamitos city council voted 4-1 to opt out of SB 54, which prohibits state and local law enforcement from working with immigration officers.
The city’s adopted ordinance claims the sanctuary law “may be in direct conflict with federal laws and the Constitution.” The council “finds that it is impossible to honor our oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States” unless they opt out.
Councilmember Shelley Hasselbrink voted for opting out and said:
“It’s not really about immigration. It’s never been about immigration. It’s always been, to me, about illegal immigration. And we need to not support illegal anything in our city and this was the only recourse we had.”
The small southern California city has a population of about 12,000. Stuck in the middle of Democratic Orange County, Los Alamitos remained mostly conservative until the 2016 election, when the town was split between Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton.
The small council chambers only seats about 40 people, which is usually more than enough room. But on Monday, the room was overcrowded, as more than 150 people showed up in support of and to protest the council’s proposed ordinance.
According to Fox 11, Reverend Samuel Pullen said: “I don’t think there’s a large undocumented presence which begs the question: why is the council trying to make a big deal out of something that isn’t a big deal in the community?”
Councilmember Shelley Hasselbrink
Resident Arthur Schaper disagreed, saying illegal immigration affects everyone everywhere, no matter the size of the town. He’s right, of course. The influx of criminal aliens will continue to grow as California holds its doors wide open, inviting them while promising them aid and even jobs.
Some argued that the city was going against state law. But, as Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge told Fox News: “The courts have been very clear that the federal government has the authority on immigration issues.”
The L.A. Times said Los Alamitos is known “for its good schools and small-town charms,” which Rutledge says is due to the city’s diligence against crime. In an interview with Fox News, she said:
“That’s the reason why they have good schools and small-town charm is because they care about keeping their crime rate low in their community; they want to protect their citizens. However, if you have state authorities passing statutes that won’t allow them to do so, it’s extraordinarily dangerous.”
Cheers to the four councilmembers who voted to opt out of sanctuary laws. Now if only more cities would wake up and decide to protect their citizens. Perhaps this can be the start to a new revolution of cities standing against the state laws that put them in more danger.
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