Tonight, the Huntington Beach City Council voted to approve the initiative brought by Mayor Pat Burns to Declare the City of Huntington Beach a “Non-Sanctuary City for Illegal Immigration for the Prevention of Crime.”
As the City Council Members commented, the intent of this Resolution is to deliberately sidestep the Governor’s efforts to subvert the good work of federal immigration authorities and to announce the City’s cooperation with the federal government, the Trump Administration, and Border Czar Tom Homan’s work. This new City policy and Declaration are common sense, supports our law enforcement, and advances public safety throughout the City. What the Governor is doing does not. Neither the Governor nor the State Legislature with the passage of laws may interfere with the City’s voluntary cooperation with federal authorities, nor cause or compel the City to violate federal laws such as Title 8 Section 1324 for the harboring of illegal immigrants.
City Officials have a duty to follow all laws, including federal immigration laws and neither the Governor nor the State will interfere with that. The City encourages other cities to join Huntington Beach by adopting their own Resolutions. As the Mayor stated, “I am pleased the City Council unanimously supported my initiative. This will be another effective tool to combat crime and it will be a signal to would-be criminals, do not come to Huntington Beach.”
City Attorney, Michael Gates applauded the City Council’s vote, “In California in particular, fighting crime is difficult enough with the relaxed criminal laws and lack of enforcement. The State should get out of the way of local law enforcement, stop handcuffing our police officers and California’s cities, and get back to the business of protecting innocent citizens. Emphatically, the State should not take a position of violating federal immigration laws or encouraging cities to violate federal immigration laws.”
The City Council’s Declaration that the City of Huntington Beach a “Non-Sanctuary City for Illegal Immigration for the Prevention of Crime” is effective immediately.
