More California Cities Seek To Defy Sanctuary City Laws Los Alamitos Rebellion

Several California cities are planning to defy Jerry Brown’s “Sanctuary City” laws, following Monday’s decision by the quiet Orange County town of Los Alamitos to disregard several state-wide statutes preventing, among other things, cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.  

As reported previously, Los Alamitos’ city leadership passed an ordinance 4-1 on Monday, and instructed the city attorney to file an amicus brief in the DOJ lawsuit against California’s Immigrant Worker Protection Act (HB-450), the California Values Act (SB-54), and the Inspection and Review of Facilities Housing Federal Detainees Law (AB-103).

Mayor Troy Edgar joined council members Richard Murphy and Shelly Hasselbrink in support of the new local law – noting that California’s sanctuary law puts them at odds with the U.S. constitution, while councilman Mark Chirco voted against it – suggesting it would lead to litigation.

Following the Monday decision, the Orange County Register reports that several other cities – and in fact the entire county itself, may be on the verge of enacting similar laws to defy the state’s Sanctuary Laws. 

The County of Orange and several cities in Southern California soon might join Los Alamitos in its bid to opt out of a controversial state law that limits cooperation with federal immigration officials.

Officials with the county as well as leaders in Aliso Viejo and Buena Park said Tuesday they plan to push for various versions of the anti-sanctuary ordinance approved in Los Alamitos late Monday by a 4-1 vote of that city council.

Immigration advocates said Los Alamitos and cities and counties that follow its opt-out ordinance will be violating state law and at risk of litigation.

But Los Alamitos’ anti-sanctuary push also received wide attention in conservative media, and gained support from those who don’t agree with California’s protective stance on all immigrants, regardless of legal status.

Of note, while California’s Bay Area and Los Angeles are notably quite liberal, there are conservative enclaves all over the state according to the California Secretary of State (via the Sacramento Bee). 

Voters affiliated with conservative parties outnumber voters affiliated with liberal parties in about 70 of the state’s 200 largest cities and counties. Yorba Linda and Newport Beach are the state’s most conservative cities, with conservative-affiliated voters outnumbering liberal-affiliated voters by a 2-to-1 margin.

Californians affiliated with conservative parties – Republicans, Libertarians and American Independents – today comprise about 25% of the state’s registered voters, according to new data from the California Secretary of State.

State voters affiliated with liberal parties – Democrats, Greens and Peace and Freedom party members – make up about 45% of the electorate. Californians with no party preference comprise 25% of voters and third-party voters make up the other 5%.