{"id":15467,"date":"2017-10-06T16:40:40","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T20:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=15467"},"modified":"2018-12-28T12:35:33","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T17:35:33","slug":"california-dreamin-rights-illegal-aliens-matter-safety-citizens-legal-residents-doesnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2017\/10\/06\/california-dreamin-rights-illegal-aliens-matter-safety-citizens-legal-residents-doesnt\/","title":{"rendered":"California Dreamin\u2019 \u2013 The Rights of Illegal Aliens Matter, The Safety of Citizens and Legal Residents Doesn\u2019t"},"content":{"rendered":"
Newsweek<\/em> has just declared that, \u201cMore than 2.3 million undocumented immigrants in California are now officially protected under a new state sanctuary law.\u201d Of course, unless California<\/a> just seceded from the Union that\u2019s not really true.<\/p>\n Yes, the Golden State just passed Senate Bill 54<\/a> (S.B. 54), declaring itself a \u201csanctuary state,\u201d whatever that means. But, the last time anyone checked, California was still one of the fifty states that make up the United States of America \u2013 even though it doesn\u2019t act like one<\/a>.<\/p>\n And regardless of whether the California state legislature likes it, federal law, including the Immigration and Nationality Act, still applies there. Which means that foreigners who snuck into the United States or overstayed a visa aren\u2019t \u201cundocumented immigrants.\u201d They\u2019re just illegal aliens<\/a>. Even if they decided to hang out<\/a> in California.<\/p>\n What does S.B. 54 actually do? More of the same foolishness that sanctuary cities have already engaged in:<\/p>\n It bars police departments from detaining people based on their immigration status.<\/p>\n So, are illegal aliens now immune to immigration enforcement from the San Francisco Bay to the High Sierra? Not by a long-shot. Border Patrol Agents and ICE Officers can still arrest illegal aliens in California. S.B. 54 just makes it more difficult for state and local law enforcement<\/a> authorities to cooperate with them. But as FAIR has noted on numerous occasions, federal law enforcement officials have nationwide jurisdiction and don\u2019t need to ask a state\u2019s permission to enforce federal laws.<\/p>\n In fact, California was forced to acknowledge that fact in this legislation \u2013 S.B. 54 specifically \u201callows\u201d federal immigration authorities to go into jails to question illegal aliens and to work with state correctional officials. From a legal standpoint, however, it seems pretty clear that a state government doesn\u2019t have the authority to prohibit federal officials from questioning illegal aliens. Doing so would appear to be a federal crime<\/a>.<\/p>\n One hopes that the Trump administration will take action to wake the Golden State up from its California dreamin\u2019. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals<\/a> which covers California is notoriously pro-illegal alien. And the Supreme Court has, thus far, side-stepped any decisions on contested Trump immigration enforcement programs. Meanwhile, California can claim the dubious distinction<\/a> of being a state that places the \u201crights\u201d of illegal aliens above the safety and security of its own citizens. \n