Illegal Immigrants In California Not As Safe As Once Believed After SB54 Legal Victory For Huntington Beach



September 30, 2018

While Americans were tuned in to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that took place Thursday and listened as both Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh delivered powerful statement, they missed an important victory that was handed to American patriots who do not support the idea of providing illegal immigrants a place of sanctuary. Before Thursday, California may have been considered one of the safest places in the United States due to it’s California Values Act. Senate Bill 54, also known as the California Values Act bars the local authorities in California from questioning the immigration status of people they encounter during routine interactions. Senate Bill 54 also kept local authorities in the state of California from participating in federal immigration enforcement actions. Late Thursday saw these things change for California, more specifically for more than 120 charter cities in California.

Huntington Beach became the first city in California to successfully challenge the California Values Act when an Orange County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the city. Nearly six months ago Huntington Beach became one of at least 121 cities that brought the legal fight to the state of California arguing that SB54 was a clear violation to their rights of local control. Huntington Beach was able to successfully argue that the Constitution of California gave it local autonomy and independence over certain laws including police departments and local resources.

Although at this time it remains unclear how Thursday’s courtroom victory for Huntington Beach will impact the other cities who have brought similar lawsuits against California, one thing that is very clear is that this victory should improve their own chances of a legal victory due to legal precedent now having been established. The list of Charter cities in the state of California contains some very well known names such as Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco just to name a few.

The attorney that represented Huntington Beach, Michael Gates, told the media, “to me, having SB 54 declared unconstitutional at any level is a massive victory for the city and a massive defeat for the state.” He feels that not only does this important legal victory against the California Value Act make it so Huntington Beach does not have to follow the state law, but it also makes it so other charter cities throughout the state do not have to follow SB 54.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was less than pleased with Huntington Beach’s legal victory and offered a statement to the media Friday when he said, “preserving the safety and constitutional rights of all our people is a statewide imperative which cannot be undermined by contrary local rules. We will continue working to ensure that our values and laws like the California Values Act are upheld throughout our state.”

At the time of this writing there has been no mention from the state attorney general’s officer about whether or not they would try to appeal the ruling that Orange County Superior Court Judge James Crandall handed the coastal city the day before. While giving his ruling on Thursday Judge James Crandall said, “the operation of a police department and its jail is a city affair. For the state to say one size fits all for policing isn’t going to fit everybody.”

Representative Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa, whose county includes Huntington Beach issued a statement to the media on Friday celebrating the legal victory of Huntington Beach when he said, “this court case was a huge setback for supporters of sanctuary policies. This law was forced down the throats of Californians and dramatically undermined their safety and security. If cities and counties want to cooperate with ICE or other federal law enforcement, they have a right to do so, and I support the judge’s decision.”

An important legal victory in court for the members of Huntington Beach and other charter cities across the state of California, and a well celebrated victory for American patriots all over the United States.

https://www.halseynews.com/2018/09/3...l-immigration/