Sanctuary cities, municipalities that offer a safe haven to people who came into the country illegally, are at their core, illegal.
That little issue doesn’t seem to bother the judges on the uber-liberal 9th circuit court of appeals.
The Trump administration’s plea to prevent the state of California from becoming a safe haven for illegal aliens who wish to dodge deportation was shot down by the 9th Circuit Court, who ruled that the state could in fact harbor the lawbreakers without the state being in violation of federal law.
“The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed Thursday with a Sacramento federal judge who ruled that the 2017 state law doesn’t conflict with federal immigration statutes,” Bloomberg reported.
“The three-judge panel also upheld a California measure that requires private employers to alert workers before federal immigration inspections, while directing the lower-court judge to re-examine part of a third law that authorizes the state attorney general to inspect facilities that house immigrants not detained for criminal offenses.”
This is not the first time that the 9th Circuit has ruled against President Donald Trump and his administration’s strict immigration policies.
While “sanctuary cities” are not new territory for the nation, a “sanctuary state” is something that is still somewhat uncharted territory for the union thus far.
Any place that calls itself a sanctuary for illegals is one that does not cooperate with federal authorities by reporting legal interactions with those found to be in the country illegally.
For instance, if a person were to be found driving without a license, and that lack of a license was linked to their illegal status, the local, and in this case, state officials, would not be allowed to notify ICE that an illegal alien was in their custody.
In many cases, these policies have lead to tragic ends as the illegal alien is often released, either permanently, or awaiting trial, and often return to whatever illegal activity they were previously participating in.
“SB 54, known as the California Values Act, bars local officials from informing federal officials about immigrants’ release dates from jail except in serious criminal cases,” Bloomberg reported.
This act was signed into law by former Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat who led a staunch resistance to Trump’s agenda.
“SB 54 may well frustrate the federal government’s immigration enforcement efforts,” the court said in its 54-page ruling.
“However, whatever the wisdom of the underlying policy adopted by California, that frustration is permissible, because California has the right, pursuant to the anti commandeering rule, to refrain from assisting with federal efforts.”
