Monterey County takes stance on immigration lawsuits
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors is deciding not to sue the Trump Administration over a federal immigration order targeting funding for sanctuary cities and similar communities.
However on Friday, the supervisors voted 4-1 to file Amicus Curiae briefs in two separate cases, meaning Monterey County will become a “friend of the court.”
“I think the board’s position is that we shouldn’t be coerced into doing federal immigration enforcement,” said Monterey County Counsel Charles McKee. “That’s the role of the federal government. Local government needs to provide services to its citizens and we should be focused on that.”
In late January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order making all undocumented immigrants subject to deportation. It also threatened to withhold federal funding from any government entity that hinders immigration law enforcement. Less than a week later, both San Francisco and Santa Clara County sued the president, challenging the constitutionality of the orders.
McKee wants to challenge the constitutionality as well. He said the orders violate the Fifth Amendment because it’s vague and the Tenth Amendment’s separation of powers.
Supervisor Simon Salinas explained how.
“Congress authorizes the funding,” Salinas said. “We don’t feel that the executive has a right to take some of that funding that goes just beyond law enforcement. It could affect health care, it could affect social services that are very critical in our communities.”
Residents we spoke with say they understand why Trump issued the executive orders, but they are sympathetic to sanctuary cities.
Elvie Dominguez translated the following for her mom, Rosa Machuca:
“What she was also saying earlier was that she knows that Trump, what he’s doing, he’s trying to have good intentions for the benefit of the United States, to prevent terrorism from continuing to happen. But she also understands that there are people that have great needs that are coming here to the United States because it’s a pot of gold. You come here and there’s so many opportunities to work and jobs that other people would not be willing to do, such as working in the fields.”
McKee hopes to have the briefs submitted next week. Both San Francisco and Santa Clara County cases will be heard in their district courts next month, where attorneys will argue for a preliminary injunction for the order.
Click here to read more about the supervisors vote.
