Sanctuary cities are a big problem for the rule of law, but we have a man in office who’s doing something about it. President Trump’s effective Solicitor General filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn California Senate Bill 54, which requires officials there to obstruct deportations. That means California law enforcement can’t work with federal authorities to get illegal aliens sent back to their home countries. The Ninth Circuit upheld the California sanctuary city law despite admitting it “makes the jobs of federal immigration authorities more difficult,” and even discriminates against federal officials performing their duties.
It shouldn’t surprise you to hear that the Ninth Circuit decisions are often reversed. They upheld this law on the theory that California “retains the right” to obstruct federal law based on the Tenth Amendment. It’s a distortion of states’ rights to uphold state laws defying federal law enforcement on illegal immigration. These state laws impose expenses on other states by attracting more illegal border crossings.
Solicitor General Noel Francisco explained that “Aliens are present and may remain in the United States only as provided for under the auspices of federal immigration law. It therefore is the United States, not California, that ‘retains the right’ to set the conditions under which aliens in this country may be detained, released, and removed.”
Even though Solicitor General Francisco’s words ring with the unmistakable sound of truth, Democrats in California see many future voters for their party among the swarms of illegal immigrants flowing over our southern border. That state has lurched leftward as it attracts more illegal aliens with its sanctuary cities.
But as Trump’s Solicitor General elaborates, “When officers are unable to arrest aliens – often criminal aliens – who are in the removal proceedings or have been ordered removed from the United States, those aliens … are disproportionately likely to commit crimes.” The result is that every sanctuary city “undermines public safety, immigration enforcement, and the rule of law.” Both voters and the Supreme Court should totally reject all sanctuary city laws. The rule of law is a foundational principle of American governance and must be respected.
