Federal judge rules in favor of California sanctuary state law

A federal judge ruled on Thursday the State of California can remain a sanctuary state for now, coming as a major setback for the Trump administration and their immigration enforcement efforts.

The Trump administration sued California back in March over the passage of Senate Bill 54, also known as the California Values Act or the Sanctuary State bill. SB 54 puts restrictions on local enforcement in cooperating with federal immigration agencies.

“I’ve said all along when I drafted Senate Bill 54…that the measure is constitutional, that it passes legal muster,” said Kevin de Leon, the state senator who drafted SB 54.

A U.S. judge in Sacramento, who was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, agreed with state lawmakers on Thursday, throwing out the Trump administration’s request to block SB 54.

State lawmakers argue the bill helps maintain trust between police and immigrants. Blanca Zarazua, a Salinas immigration attorney, agrees with lawmakers’ argument.

“If the immigrant community knows that the local law enforcement is going to work with immigration authorities, they will certainly hesitate to come forward because anything you can do can be used against you in an immigration context,” she said.

The Trump administration says SB 54 allows dangerous criminals to run free. But Zarazua says the bill does list specific crimes whereby if an undocumented immigrant commits one, local police would be obliged to work with immigration agents.

“If ICE can show proof of those crimes and history, they will cooperate,” she said. “So it’s not a carte blanche for local law enforcement. On some occasions, they do have to have to cooperate.”

The federal judge ruled that the state’s refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in general does not amount to impeding them from doing their work.

“I think it would be a stronger argument, maybe, in the judge’s eyes, to grant the injunction if somehow they’re limiting the way immigration officials can do their job by creating an impediment. I don’t know exactly how that would come about,” said Zarazua. “But if you could argue factually that there was an impediment because local law enforcement did not cooperate with ICE, then maybe the judge would have been persuaded.”

The federal judge also said he was not convinced the state is trying to interfere with federal immigration policy.

“I’m open to sanctuary state as long as it’s fair to everybody. I don’t want criminals running around here either,” said Trinidad Gonzalez, a Salinas resident. “I was a PTA president, so I care about kids and I have daughters, all that stuff. So I do care about crime.”