Thread: CA. Gov. Brown: Protect law-abiders and help boot the bad guys

Capitol Journal
Gov. Brown is right about the 'sanctuary state' bill: Protect law-abiders and help boot the bad guys


California Gov. Jerry Brown appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday and said he believed changes should be made to the so-called "sanctuary state" bill. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)



George Skelton Contact Reporter Capitol Journal
Aug . 10, 2017


Gov. Jerry Brown again is trying to save Democratic legislators from their leftist selves. This time he’s stopping them from protecting criminals.

The governor finally has spoken out unequivocally regarding the Democrats’ so-called “sanctuary state” legislation.

What he’s saying makes sense: Sure, help the people who migrated here illegally but are contributing positively to the state. But corral the crooks and deport them.

Here’s how Brown put it on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday:

“We want to be very understanding of people who have come to our state, have worked in our economy, often for decades, picking our food, working in our restaurants, working in high-tech industry. The whole range of what constitutes the life of California has been contributed to by many of these immigrants that are not documented.

“And we want to make sure we help them to the extent that the law of California can coexist with the law of the United States.”

But, the governor continued: “It is a balancing act. It does require some sensitivity. And that’s why I take a more nuanced and careful approach to dealing with what is a difficult problem.

“Because you do have people who are not here legally. They’ve committed crimes. They have no business in the United States in the manner in which they’ve come and conducted themselves subsequently.”

Brown had been asked about SB 54, authored by Senate leader Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles). It would extend to the entire state many of the protections that already exist in so-called sanctuary cities and counties, including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. It also would strengthen those protections.

The bill would severely limit state and local cops’ ability to help federal agents enforce immigration laws. That’s fine. State and local tax money should not be spent on enforcing federal laws.

California already has plenty of laws essentially going unenforced because there aren’t enough police to do it.

But the problem with SB 54 is that it would also help convicted criminals, who are here illegally, avoid U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Under the bill, state prison officials and local jailers could notify the feds about the pending release of an inmate here illegally only if he’d been convicted of a “serious” or “violent” felony. If he were about to be freed after serving time for a lesser offense, ICE couldn’t be informed unless the guy previously had been convicted of a serious or violent felony.

That excludes a bunch of other crimes, such as burglary, human trafficking, assault on a police officer, sexual battery, spousal abuse, soliciting a murder and drunk driving while causing severe injury.

“As written, this bill protects criminals and jeopardizes public safety,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told reporters on a conference call Tuesday. He’s president of the California State Sheriffs’ Assn., which strongly opposes the bill.

“It provides sanctuaries to criminals,” he asserted.

Gov. Brown objects to the sanctuary tag, as does De León — adamantly.

“That bill does not declare California a sanctuary state,” the governor insisted on “Meet the Press.”

Asked to explain, Brown responded: “Well, as a former seminarian, I have a very clear image of the sanctuary. It’s in a church. It conjures up medieval sanctuary places….

“The goal here is to block and not to collaborate with abuse of federal power. That’s the goal.”

Updates from Sacramento »

OK, “sanctuary” is not a precise and perfect handle. But it’s much closer to reality than De León’s spin-tag: the “California Values Act.”

Right now, the bill has “Willie Horton” written all over it. Willie Horton was a convicted murderer, a black man who raped a pregnant white woman and tortured her fiancé while on a furlough from a Massachusetts prison. Michael S. Dukakis was the governor, which voters were reminded of by George H.W. Bush in an odorous TV ad when the two ran for president in 1988.

Closer to home, there’s the 2015 fatal shooting in San Francisco of Kate Steinle, 32, by a Mexican national who had served three federal prison terms for felony reentry into the country. The shooter had been under the San Francisco sheriff’s custody on a drug charge. He was released without federal agents being notified, although they’d asked to be. This was a sanctuary city, after all.

Brown, De León and the sheriffs say they’ve been trying to reach a compromise.

But they haven’t been trying very hard recently. Sacramento currently is in slumber mode. The Legislature is off on its summer vacation. Nothing’s happening.

Frantic chaos will return when the Legislature reconvenes Aug. 21. Then the lawmakers will have four weeks to pass their bills before they adjourn for the year.

The sanctuary bill already has zipped through the Senate and two Assembly committees on party-line votes. The measure’s next hurdle is the Assembly Appropriations Committee, an easy leap. Then there’ll be the Assembly floor vote. A simple majority is all that’s required.

But unless the criminal coddling is removed, Brown won’t sign the bill.

He has been rerouting Democrats from their leftward drifts for years, principally on spending and borrowing. But he also deserves credit for tacitly encouraging Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) to wisely stomp on a sloppy, prohibitively expensive single-payer universal healthcare bill that the Senate irresponsibly passed.

Fixing the sanctuary state bill should be a no-brainer. Protect the good law-abiders. Help the feds boot the bad guys.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-p...810-story.html

California ‘Sanctuary State’ Bill Runs into Obstacles

11

The Associated Press
by ADELLE NAZARIAN 11 Aug 201779

California’s “sanctuary state” bill, which would prevent the state from assisting U.S. immigrations and customs enforcement (ICE) agents from enforcing federal immigration law, is facing some surprising criticism from — of all people — the Golden’s State’s Democrat Gov. Jerry Brown.

In spite of the fact that the bill passed in the state Senate last month, Brown told NBC News’ Meet the Press last weekend:

“The goal here is to block and not to collaborate with abuse of federal power. It is a balancing act. It does require some sensitivity. And that’s why I take a more nuanced and careful approach to dealing with what is a difficult problem.” He added: “Because you do have people who are not here legally, they’ve committed crimes. They have no business in the United States in the manner in which they’ve come and conducted themselves subsequently.”

“Sanctuary state” bill SB 54, also known as the “California Values Act,” introduced by Senate Leader Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), has reportedly been amended to create exceptions for serious and violent crimes. However, the San Jose Mercury News notesthat the bill’s opponents say the bill still does not cover enough offenses. The Mercury News writes, “They argue that California already places restrictions on such collaboration, and that the new bill would make it even harder for the feds to apprehend suspects before they are released from a county jail.”

Last week, as Breitbart News noted, Gov. Brown told Meet the Press that SB 54, did not, in fact, declare California to be a “sanctuary state.”

If Brown acts against the sanctuary state bill, this would not be his first time doing so. In 2012, Brown vetoed Assembly Bill 1081, which is similar in substance to SB 54, writing, “I am unable to sign this bill as written. I believe it’s unwise to interfere with a sheriff’s discretion to comply with a detainer issued for people with these kinds of troubling criminal records.”

The Mercury News noted that during a recent teleconference, Santa Barbara County Sheriff and president of the state association Bill Brown said the signing of SB 54 “is not a fait accompli.” His group is opposed to the bill. “There are many members of the Assembly who are not comfortable with this legislation,” Brown added.

SB 54 is reportedly also opposed by sheriffs’ unions, the California Police Chiefs Association, and the California Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Last month, De León claimed, “If Jeb Bush or Chris Christie or John Kasich had been elected, this bill would not be necessary.” He reportedly added, “These are extraordinary times.” In January, De León said, “California will not become a cog in the Trump deportation machine.”

SB 54 is just one of several bills that Democrats and progressives have proposed in response to fears about deportations.

Assembly Bill 222, by Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-San Fernando), seeks to amend 1994’s Proposition 187 so that it would no longer be a felony to manufacture or distribute false documents to help someone conceal their immigration status.

Assembly Bill 291, by Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco), reportedly “prevents landlords from harassing tenants over their immigration status or using it against them.”

Assembly Bill 450, also by Assemblyman Chiu, would provide illegal aliens additional workplace protections. And Assembly Bill 699, by Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach), would require schools to protect schoolchildren who are in the Golden State illegally by requiring, among other things, a “judicial warrant” from immigration officers.

http://www.breitbart.com/california/...ng-opposition/

So Governor Brown and Donald Trump are basically on the same page on immigration?

W

Gov. Brown objects to the sanctuary tag, as does De León — adamantly.

Hmm, I guess this is one of those cases where the truth can be hurtful. There is no denying that SB 54 is a sanctuary bill specifically designed to protect all illegal immigrants.

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

So Governor Brown and Donald Trump are basically on the same page on immigration?

W

Ha, ha, ha. I assume that was sarcasm.

Gov. Jerry Brown to Mexican Illegals: 'You're All Welcome in California'


by TONY LEE26 Aug 2014

On Monday evening, California Governor Jerry Brown said all Mexicans, including illegal immigrants, are welcome in California.

According to the Los Angeles Times, while introducing Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, who said America is “the other Mexico,” Brown “spoke about the interwoven histories of Mexico and California.” He “nodded to the immigrants in the room, saying it didn’t matter if they had permission to be in the United States.”

“You’re all welcome in California,” Brown reportedly said.

Brown has made California a sanctuary state by signing the Trust Act and giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. He has also expanded financial aid to illegal immigrants by signing the California DREAM Act. Peña Nieto reportedly “thanked state officials for embracing foreigners, citing measures that extend state benefits to immigrants.”

Even during the border crisis, Brown reportedly vowed “to find ways to shorten long waits at the Tijuana-San Diego international border crossing,” saying, “If we can put a man on the moon, we can put a man from Mexico to California in 20 minutes.”

In 2012, 28% of Californians were born outside the United States, according to The New York Times. Hispanic voters reportedly “made up 19.2% of California voters” in 2010. Andaccording to Pew Research, Latinos make up nearly 40% of the state’s population and have made California “only the second state, behind New Mexico, where whites are not the majority and Latinos are the plurality.”

Even though the University of California has admitted a record number of Hispanics, the Latino Caucus has vowed to make affirmative action and bilingual education top legislative priorities.

Peña Nieto is scheduled to address the California State Legislature in Sacramento on Tuesday.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...welcome-in-ca/

California governor endorses legal challenge to Trump immigration policy

Jerry Brown hopes courts will decide whether local police must enforce federal immigration law


YVETTE CABRERA AUG 6, 2017, 1:08 PM

Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) endorsed the possibility of a state lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to force local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, on Sunday.

Brown’s comments, on NBC’s Meet the Press, came in the wake of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement in late July that some federal justice funding will require local law enforcement agencies to certify that they’ll cooperate more extensively with federal immigration authorities.

California’s attorney general will decide whether to move forward in filing a lawsuit, Brown told host Chuck Todd, adding that the courts could help resolve the broader debate over the role of state and local law enforcement on federal immigration enforcement.

“A few judicious forums to resolve this dispute between the federal government and California – I think – can be very helpful for the whole country, and in a dispassionate way,” said Brown. “Because this back and forth by politicians, it doesn’t really clarify some of the difficulties of the paramount law of the federal government colliding with the sovereign law of the 50 states.”

Last spring, the California Senate passed a bill that would limit law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The so-called “sanctuary state” bill, SB 54 prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from using their resources, such as equipment or personnel, to aid federal officials to enforce immigration laws. For example, police officers would be barred from asking about immigration status or giving federal immigration authorities access to interview a detainee in custody.

State Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León (D), who authored the legislation, said the law would expand sanctuary city policies enacted to protect immigrants from the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigration.

De León told CNN last month that he believes that undocumented immigrants will stop reporting crimes or cooperating with local police, as a result of Trump’s policies, undermining public safety.

The bill, which is being debated in the California Assembly, would establish uniform guidelines on state-federal cooperation, particularly with regard to policing, he told CNN.

“What I don’t want to do is increase crime,” de León added. “You will increase crime if local police are acting as cogs of the Trump deportation machine.”

Brown said that he would like to see some tweaks to SB 54, but defended it in concept, saying it would lay out a set of specific legislative requirements regarding cooperation with federal immigration authorities. “The goal here is to block and not to collaborate with abuse of federal power,” he explained.

The bill is part of an effort to acknowledge the role that immigrants have played in California’s economy, Brown added, saying, “We want to make sure we help them to the extent that the law of California can coexist with the law of the United States.”

He urged a balanced approach, noting that those undocumented immigrants who commit serious crimes “have no business in the United States.”

A potential sanctuary state lawsuit sets the stage for a showdown on an issue that has been strongly debated at the local law enforcement level in California in recent years. For decades, some California probation departments turned over minors in juvenile detention to immigration authorities. Probation officials contended that federal law obliged them to refer potentially undocumented juveniles to immigration authorities and that federal regulations protect a local law enforcement agency’s right to communicate with ICE. But some legal expertsbelieve this is a misreading of federal authority.

Brown said he thinks a judicial test could settle the longstanding issue: “It might just be very helpful to get into court and resolve this in a judicial forum rather than in the rhetoric of politicians talking past one another.”

California is not the only possible challenger to the administration’s policy. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) has also announced plans to file a lawsuit.

https://thinkprogress.org/california...-ab8fe462e407/

WATCH: Calif. Governor’s Budget Includes Millions To Protect Illegal Immigrants



June 2, 2017
OAN Newsroom

California Governor Jerry Brown continues to be in hot water over his policies. The Democratic has revised the state budget proposal, setting aside millions of dollars to protect illegal immigrants. One America’s Stephanie Myers has more.

http://www.oann.com/watch-calif-governors-budget-includes-millions-to-protect-illegal-immigrants/

Sit back and look at all this with a clear mind, without all the rhetoric we have been subject to for decades - can you believe this kind of thing is going on in America today?

I can't.

Get the 'baddest' guys out first, then the rest.

Of course, he is getting old and it won't matter much, but in one more generation, CA, and probably Texas, will belong to Mexicans. Some may have been legalized, but they will still be Mexican in their hearts.

Do these silly politicians think they are still going to be kept in their exalted position? Don't they have children or grandchildren?

Protect law-abiders and help boot the bad guys

Is this not the Trump plan to focus on the bad hombres and then provide DACA, Dream, and Comprehensive Amnesty for the rest and putting such plans in motion without the required legislation?

W