SANTA CLARA, CA – Santa Clara County and San Francisco last week led a coalition of local governments across the U.S. with the filing of a lawsuit against the Trump Administration executive orders attacking “sanctuary cities” that prohibit local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration officials.
According to a statement issued by the County of Santa Clara these non-cooperation (or “sanctuary”) policies prohibit the commandeering of local resources, like law enforcement, to carry out federal responsibilities, like immigration enforcement.
Instead, the County of Santa Clara explains it aims to focus its resources on local matters, including assisting vulnerable populations and carrying out local law enforcement.
The coalition led by Santa Clara County and San Francisco also includes the Cities of Portland, OR; New Haven, CT; and King County, WA. The suit will be filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, according to The County of Santa Clara.
The courts have consistently upheld local governments’ rights to pursue such policies, with the county saying that their policies do not hinder the federal government’s ability to enforce its laws, insists the County of Santa Clara.
“The federal government does not have the legal authority to strongarm local jurisdictions into using their own resources to serve the federal government’s immigration priorities,” explained County of Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti.
LoPresti added, “The Trump Administration does not have the right to take over our local resources and effectively conscript our own law enforcement officers into being federal immigration enforcement agents.”
Santa Clara argued President Trump and his administration have issued executive orders and pursued policies to freeze funding to state and local governments that have these non-cooperation policies, suggesting these orders attempt to commandeer local law enforcement and force them to take up the responsibility of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
County of Santa Clara Board President Otto Lee criticized such “chaotic orders,” describing them as “not only illegal but will hurt public safety and health for everyone.”
One of these executive orders, Executive Order 14159, claims to “(protect)the American people against invasion,” and orders federal agencies to unlawfully freeze federal funds to jurisdictions that have non-cooperation policies, and is disputed by the County of Santa Clara.
The county said the US Department of Justice has ordered its agents to investigate and prosecute state/local officials in such jurisdictions that do not assist in federal immigration enforcement.
Santa Clara County Executive James R. Williams pushed back against these orders, stating, “The orders coming from this federal administration are flagrant, unconstitutional threats against state and local governments across the nation. This is the next chapter of the same playbook that was used eight years ago. The County litigated against the Trump Administration’s unconstitutional efforts in 2017 and prevailed in court; we will do so again.”
Supervisor Betty Duong, a daughter of Vietnamese immigrants who came to the US as refugees during the Vietnam War, describes the county as having “always been a welcoming community,” noting the importance of this fight against the Trump Administration.
Duong added, “I am so proud that the County of Santa Clara continues to be a leader in the fight against the Trump Administration’s unconscionable actions, particularly those that harm our immigrant communities.”
Even during the first Trump Administration, Santa Clara County and San Francisco sued the federal government over similar policies that attempted to withhold funding over local non-cooperation policies, Santa Clara County said, adding federal district courts and the Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals ruled to uphold local non-cooperation policies, and ruled that these federal funding freezes were unconstitutional.
Board Vice President Sylvia Arenas said, “This is a clear message that we will hold the line as we’ve done before, in solidarity with our immigrant communities, to stand up against the Trump Administration’s bullying and intimidation tactics to withhold federal funding for critical County services.
“Our region and country were built on the backs of immigrants, and we must have courage to continue standing strong,” said Arenas. “We will remain united and stand up for justice, if that means noncooperation with mass deportations that aim to separate our families.”
Supervisor Susan Ellenberg charged the Trump Administration’s immigration policy does not improve public safety, but promotes fear, claiming, “It has a chilling effect on the community, making individuals fearful to report crimes or obtain needed healthcare and other County services.”
Added Ellenberg, “It makes children afraid to go to school, the library, or the playground. We do not want residents of Santa Clara County – or anywhere else in the nation – to be forced to live with that kind of fear.”
County of Santa Clara Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga states that it is the responsibility of the county to “help all residents without regard to immigration status, and without collecting information about immigration status.”
“Our law enforcement officers do not – and should not – assist in immigration raids. It is simply not the job of local governments, and this lawsuit puts Santa Clara County at the forefront of the effort to resist the Trump Administration’s push to unlawfully force jurisdictions to do its bidding,” Abe-Koga added.
