CA to become sanctuary state?
August 27, 2012
By Katy Grimes
SACRAMENTO — Immigration issues within states are becoming more prevalent. The usual complaints are that the federal government isn’t doing enough to enforce U.S. policy.
California is different. Earlier this year, it already embarked into uncharted territories, with the state Legislature voting to allow the children of undocumented aliens to attend the state’s public universities and colleges, at estimated costs of $65 million a year in financial aid and scholarships.
California: Sanctuary State
There have been many failed attempts to pass state laws allowing undocumented immigrants to live and work in California without the constant threat of deportation. Many say that this should have sent a clear message to lawmakers. Even a ballot initiative, the California Opportunity and Prosperity Act, failed to get enough signatures to quality for the November ballot.
“But noooooo,” as John Belushi used to say on “Saturday Night Live.”
Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, D-Sylmar, together with Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, revived the attempt. In one of the most repugnant moves legislators can make, they gutted and amended SB 901, breathing new life into creating a “safe harbor” for illegal immigrants in California.
The sanctuary discussions began with allowing counties to opt in or out of becoming sanctuary counties. But when SB 901 was gutted and amended to include the new language, Steinberg used language that would make the entire state a sanctuary state.
But that’s not all, folks.
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, led a contentious conversation in the Assembly Friday surrounding illegal immigrants over his bill, AB 1081, which seeks to remove the teeth of the Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Secure Communities program.
Current law requires local law enforcement agencies to submit arrestees’ fingerprints to ICE, as well as several other Federal Bureau of Investigation databases, then have these federal agencies access the arrestee’s documented criminal and immigration history.
But according to Ammiano, this federal program is problematic because it allows local police agencies to investigate and enforce immigration laws on anyone in the U.S. illegally, instead of just pursuing and arresting the most dangerous illegal immigrants.
Picking and choosing which lawbreakers get deported is apparently what Ammiano wants California law enforcement to be able to do.
California reality
California has more than a $16 billion deficit, but spends $21 billion annually on illegal, undocumented aliens. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, “Illegal immigrants make up about 28 percent of all foreign-born U.S. residents and slightly less than 4 percent of the nation’s total population.” And according to the PPIC, “California has a higher share than the rest of the nation of illegal immigrants from Mexico. It has more illegal immigrants overall than any other state—an estimated 2.6 million.”
Apparently not content with spending money the state doesn’t have, lawmakers want to turn California into a sanctuary state.
Sanctuary cities
California is already home to more than 30 Sanctuary cities. Sanctuary cities offer protection to illegal aliens and assistance through welfare benefits, along with refusing enforce the federal immigration laws, thereby offering sanctuary to those in the country illegally, and using taxpayer funds to support them.
In 2010, Los Angeles County spent $52 million in welfare benefits to illegal immigrants. By the beginning of 2011, that figure jumped to nearly $600 million.
In 2008, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, at the time the mayor of San Francisco, publicized the city’s sanctuary status in a press release for San Francisco’s Sanctuary City Outreach Program. Newsome tried to backtrack after it was discovered that the city’s sanctuary policy had protected illegal alien gang members accused of committing serious crimes, including murder. “In 2009, Newsom attempted to veto an ordinance passed by San Francisco’s even more radical Board of Supervisors which prohibited illegal aliens charged with crimes from being detained by the Department of Homeland Security,” Ohio Jobs and Justice Pac reported.
Hardship stories
Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, argued in favor of making California a sanctuary state, On Friday, he told the story of how a Sacramento woman who is in the state illegally was recently arrested “for selling tamales and trying to feed her family.”
Perez didn’t tell the entire story, but Assemblyman Brian Jones, R-Santee, did. Jones reminded lawmakers that the woman had been in the United States for 16 years and had been arrested several times for trespassing on private property.
For every story about personal hardship the media portrays, there are even more about illegal criminal aliens arrested for felony drunk driving, drug crimes, gang violence, vehicular manslaughter, murder, robberies, identity theft, and myriad other dangerous crimes.
“Illegal aliens are involved in criminal activities at a rate that is 2-5 times their representative proportion of the population,” according to P.F. Wagner, the author of “The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration.”
Impacts of legislation
Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks, strongly opposed AB 1081, and said that issuing driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants rewards law breakers. “Not only is this wildly unpopular among the citizens, but it creates a national security risk,” said Donnelly in an interview.
“It is baffling that, every time our laws become inconvenient for people who are here illegally, we create a new exemption,” he said. “This pattern of pandering is a slap in the face to the law-abiding citizens and to the dedicated families and individuals who have waited for the opportunity to become Americans. We are going to give them California drivers licenses, allow them to vote, pay their college tuition and allow them to become lawyers.”
Donnelly challenged Ammiano Friday on the name of the bill, the “Trust Act,” and said it was “an insult to everyone in this country legally. It should be called the ‘Anti-Trust Act.'”
“We can’t debate the facts anymore,” Donnelly said. “The liberals claim that we don’t want diversity. But it’s liberals who don’t want legal immigrants. Because the immigrants who came here legally, they wave the flag, build businesses, and are fiscal conservatives. They understand what freedom means.”
Both bills have been passed by the Legislature, along party lines, and are headed to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature or veto.
If the governor signs these bills and California becomes a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants, many are saying that Brown could be a one-term governor, or even face a recall. The bills have been whisked through without public input, and were drastically amended, demonstrating that California’s Democrat-controlled Legislature favors its own process over the people of the state.
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Hey, taxes are just free money. Give it all away.
— John Seiler
Ya! I want to be an illegal immigrant. Free collage, food, housing, the best medical and no accountability for breaking law! It doesn’t pay to be a citizen ; )
Yes, you could use some college.
We have little manufacturing, research, design capability.
Few know how to work. A few more know how to read a comic book. Many cannot pass a legit driver test. College is a place to do dope, and for trying to find yourself after 12 years of ” everyone is a winner” public collective education.
We have lots of hotel doors to open, six inch high hamburgers to serve, county jails to guard, etc.
We need tons of service workers for tourism, baby boomer health services, serving the welfare state.
We need aliens!
My family has been in California before was a state allowing undocumented person to come in our state which is apart of the this create us control is nit wrong but it against all my relative fought for to provide freedom for us american people for the late 250 years. When I was 18 I was able walking to a construction site and get job in the 80,s my sons can not because of the over whelmING peoplease coming to my and our state taking opertinitI es from our children costing us high taxes and education opportunities from us children and citizens. If northern cal wants this they can have it how about making california two states. Has for the california governor him and his were bad for calfornia in the 60s 70s and 80s before and he abd his pplitics are bad for us once again. My family fought to make this a state in its beginning and will continue to fight to have it remain a state of this great country
A Low paying is better than a No paying Job.
U Haul— you crack me up– 6 inch high burgrs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously though– I am a pretty mid road Dem and I don’t get why our party caves on immigration reform….we need borders. We just don’t have the money to be a sanctuary right now…
and ca where police many Mexican latino crimialize homeless white americans in ca state and steal their ids and belongings esp all over santa Barbara, ca and if a females stalked they pay off officers to put stalking on the female and not the illegal just for complaining about rape and death threats and the illegal getting your personal info. the news wont print rape of homeless women
and ca where police many Mexican latino crimnialize homeless white americans in ca state and steal their ids and belongings esp all over santa Barbara, ca and if a females stalked they pay off officers to put stalking on the female and not the illegal just for complaining about rape and death threats and the illegal getting your personal info. the news wont print rape of homeless women
We have the money! Captain Medfly says so…
If the state government issues drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens, won’t the TSA stop allowing CA driver licenses to be used to board planes? Citing that they were an unreliable means of identification?
My favorite subject!
Why do the idiots in charge not understand that: illegals put a strain on electricity, gas and water. With millions of more illegal people, this creates shortages on an already iffy system. With more, it creates more stress on roads and more traffic jams. With more using our hospitals as their private doctor and not paying, causes more to go bankrupt. With more not speaking english, causes more CA students to get bored, and or drop out of school because they are not pushed or kept interested in a class that is moving too slow or held back.
We pay higher car insurance to make up for their lack of. Heaven forbid you get in an accident with one of them. Heaven forbid you get stuck in a part of town that does not speak English and need directions or help. Or a part of town where all the stores are in another language. Or how about just having your culture pushed out for the sake of someone elses.
This doesnt even take into condsideration the crime rate involved in all of this. Rape, murder, burglary, robbery, etc going up.
They expect US citizens to change for them instead of them changing to be here.
And what about diseases they bring in.
They dont sneak across the border because they want to be American citizens as the govt wants you to believe. This is the biggest joke of all. They sneak across to get benefits! And this is THE ONLY REASON.
And who pays for this! We do. On our tax dollars with our money.
This is disgusting! Just another reason why people are leaving this state.
Boring!
Pack and Ship
-hasta la vista
Seriously though– I am a pretty mid road Dem…
LOLO..Teddy the only thing you and the sock puppets are mid road on is trough feeding.
Teddy is universal…..infinity…all comprimising and wise…..a little religion in trying times benefits the social/cultural/criminal/political outcasts so prevalent among us.
Back up the busses. Transport 11 million undocumented folks and their families to the border and dump them into Mexico.
Question 1: Who pays for it? Answer: The taxpayers do.
Question 2: What impact will that have on our economy? Here is an example: http://www.nctimes.com/business/agriculture-farmers-scramble-to-find-workers-as-some-face-losing/article_c608e543-b90b-5d31-b053-4ed47ceb7882.html
And please don’t give me the b.s. that these crop pickers are taking jobs away from good old red-blooded “Mericans. Last time the industry tried to hire U.S. citizens to do the work, they got about 4 people total.
Hi Teddy (and sock puppets ) 😉
Steve, you ar so off base, we need to have you go to a regular sachool so you can think on your own.
Illegals are wipin gout the US economy, especially CA. And YES there would be plenty of people willing to pick crops for a decent wage.
You want clean enviro and lots of services…magnets for cheap labor…
We need lots of aliens!
Get over it……your pushing against a tidal wave without a dugout canoe paddle.
Re: AB 1081 – Ammiano and his ilk need to be removed from office. Ammiano states in support of the bill, “victims of crime, including domestic violence, are fearful of risking separation from their families and deportation.” This is his backwards reasoning for not fingerprinting perpetrators of domestic violence. Really??
Hey, Diane Feinstein, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, and your liberal sisters – since when is domestic violence a “minor infraction?” Where are your big fat mouths now on the WAR AGAINST WOMEN????? Oh, that’s right, there’s no vote to be had, or campaign dollars coming from those women.
You may be correct U Haul— We need the labor force….but I hear immigration is at an all time low because of the job situation???
What I don’t get is why is it okay for California to make all these idiotic laws but Arizona can’t? That will be interesting.
And Steve, you know what? Try paying some taxes to the state and then comment ok?
Fresno is NOT a sanctuary City. I served on the Fresno City Council and personally got our Congressman at the time, George Radanovich, to correct the report and remove Fresno.
There may be plenty of sanctuary city’s in California, but Fresno is not one of them.
There’s a lot you don’t get, Rebecca,
I pay a helluva higher tax rate than you do. I’ve served my country, graduated with honors from college (that’s for you, Rexie) and continue to work hard for a living and support my family and my state. I’d ask you to please shut up unless you know what you’re taking about, but it is clear that you’ve never let that stop you.
In your world, only the rich should have the right to give their opinions. But thank God the First Amendment doesn’t have a means test.
Teddy…they lie…never believe…… follow the money first….
It’s sorta like Poodle/Donkey….they cannot believe that crap they spew…unless someone pays their single wide trailer rent and Blatz beer tab!
And Rexie, you really think that the growers are just going to magically pay a “decent” wage when they have never done so before? That would be like Wal-Mart suddenly paying clerks $12 an hour with full benefits. Ain’t happening.
In fact, the only way God-fearing, red-blooded “real” Americans will ever get decent wages for picking groups will be by starting a union.
In China globalists look for dollar an hr labor…..so how low will it go here. Imagine working a whole hour for 2/3rds of a Babe Ruth bar!
Welcome to Obamas vison for the world, equal poverty for all. Well almost all, I’m sure that Barry and the fools in Sacramento and HollyWeird won’t be included. Let the Hunger Games proceed.
stevefromsacto says:
There’s a lot you don’t get, Rebecca,
I pay a helluva higher tax rate than you do. I’ve served my country, graduated with honors from college (that’s for you, Rexie) and continue to work hard for a living and support my family and my state. I’d ask you to please shut up unless you know what you’re taking about, but it is clear that you’ve never let that stop you.
Steve, working at DMV is not “serving your country”.
Getting a GED is no “graduating with honors”.
And getting welfare is not “supporting yoru family”.
Rebecca is correct Steve, you should only post here if you pay taxes.
Poor Poodle— attacking the public servants—- zzzzzzzzzz——
Rex, you are a lying s.o.b. When you don’t have the facts to back you up, you resort to insults and flat out lies. Just shows your ignorance. You reminded me again why I stopped wasting time trying to reason with the Rabid Right.
MADNESS
it’s time to leave CALI, whiteman!! without your money CA won’t be able to do these heinous crimes.
My wife and are absolutely perplexed at this CRAZY ASS IDEA!
What’s more exasperating is how we can have elected these idiots in the first place??
We’ve been in California since 1966 but If this legislation stands, we’re moving to another state!
Re-conquista activity, gone insane . Insane , because most victims of
illegal alien crime – are other Latinos ! None of my Latino friends want
CA to be a sanctuary State !
This proves the State legislature and governor have absolutely no common
sense at all and their actions verge on the criminal .