California town votes to opt out of the state’s sanctuary law
The town of Los Alamitos in California is opting out of the state’s immigration sanctuary policy.
The city council of Orange County’s smallest city voted 4-1 Monday to exempt itself from the state’s sanctuary law that limits cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration agents.
The mayor of Los Alamitos told FOX Business’ Liz MacDonald that other mayors could follow suit.
“There are a lot of mayors in California that don’t want to be part of it, but it’s a really tough situation because in our state, a lot of this legislation that comes out of Sacramento just seems disconnected,” Troy Edgar said Monday.
Sheriff Margaret Mims of Fresno County, California, who opposes the state’s sanctuary policy, says the law doesn’t legally allow individuals to opt out and holds sheriffs personally liable for sharing its inmate database with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“It prohibits us from fully communicating with ICE. If I violate that law, I can be held personally liable in a civil lawsuit for violating that state law,” he said.
According to the Census Bureau, 138,000 people have migrated out of the state of California in a 12-month period through last summer over housing costs and taxes.
Mims said California taxpayers are forced to pull the weight of many non-taxpayers, which is forcing many Golden State residents to depart.
“When people leave, they are going to more tax-friendly, more business-friendly states such as Texas,” she said.