Political leaders in Orange County, Calif., are considering on Tuesday whether to fight state laws aimed at protecting illegal immigrants under the current administration’s heightened deportation efforts.
“This legislation prevents law enforcement from removing criminals from our community and is a threat to public safety,” Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson said regarding the law that, in many cases, instructs local police to not cooperate with federal immigration agents, the Associated Press reported.
Last week the small city of Los Alamitos in Orange County, population 12,000, voted to opt out of the sanctuary state policy imposed by California late last year.
The five member board of supervisors, who are all Republican, in the Southern California county are expected to discuss joining the U.S. government’s lawsuit against the “sanctuary” policy. Nelson has proposed either joining the lawsuit by President Trump’s administration or filing a new one.
Los Alamitos raised concerns about the constitutionality of the sanctuary state policy and sent letters to other cities seeking support.
California is an overwhelmingly blue state that is home to more than 10 million immigrants, and after passing its sanctuary law, local police are limited in the collaboration they can have with U.S. immigration authorities.
