California started 2018 by officially becoming a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants. Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB-54 last year, which restricts cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.
Pranksters have responded by posting signs along highways entering California.
“Official Sanctuary State. Felons, Illegals, and MS13 Welcome—Democrats Need The Votes!” said one sign, positioned below the large “Welcome to California” sign.
The signs have been popping up on Twitter since New Year’s Day.
Another sign reads: “Official Sanctuary City ‘Cheap Nannies and Gardeners Make Malibu Great!’ (Boyle Heights Not So Much.)”
Another sign, apparently posted in Malibu last year, reads “Official Sanctuary City—Because Our Beach Community Needs Cheap Labor, Dude.”
Restricting Cooperation
As a sanctuary state, California expects its law enforcement officers to limit its cooperation with federal immigration authorities, especially in jails.In most cases, state and local jails will not honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests, which are requests for the jail to hold an inmate for up to 48 hours so ICE can take custody. Instead, the jails release most inmates back into the community after time served.
He said he will send more agents into California in response to the new sanctuary policy.
Proponents of sanctuary policies say they encourage illegal aliens to come forward and report crimes without fear of being deported. However, in most states in the country, police officers don’t ask the immigration status of people reporting crimes. Usually, they ask only after someone has been arrested for a crime and are being booked at the jail.
President Donald Trump has pledged to crack down on sanctuary cities and Attorney General Jeff Sessions is fighting in court to cut federal funding from jurisdictions that have sanctuary policies.
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