Populations rebel against sanctuary policy
Faced with indiscriminate deportations, the state with the most undocumented immigrants raised a wall of legal protection that has led it to be called a sanctuary state. Now, some traditional Republican areas have raised the flag of Donald Trump and have launched themselves against the State. Although the president must be happy, this situation may have consequences for Republicans.
In early March, Attorney General Jeff Sessions filed a complaint against California and its governor with SB54 and two other laws aimed more at hindering the work of the immigration police. The complaint calls for the precautionary suspension of the application of these laws and, ultimately, their cancellation, as they are contrary to the criterion of the federal government. The judicial battle is under way. The Trump and Sessions offensive was a wake-up call to Republicans in California.
On March 27, the supervisory board of Orange County (a kind of provincial government), with a Republican majority, approved to join the federal government's demand. This week, it was approved by San Diego County, also a Republican. A dozen populations from both counties have joined. Last Monday, Los Alamitos, a small neighborhood (11,600 inhabitants) of high purchasing power Orange County, decided to take the matter even further.
By means of a municipal side, it was declared "exempt" from the Sanctuary Law considering it unconstitutional. That means, in practice, that if an undocumented person skips a traffic light in Los Alamitos, they can end up deported. Los Alamitos occupies 10 square kilometers inside a gigantic conurbation. It has suddenly risen as the epicenter of resistance to Californian progressivism.
In this southeast area of Los Angeles, "you cannot separate one city from another." Raul Murillo, director of the Mexican Brotherhood of Santa Ana, cannot contain his outrage on the phone. These associations provide social services and legal advice to Mexicans and the community of Santa Ana is one of the largest in California. "People are worried," he says. "California is a state that has always recognized the contribution of immigrants. We are very concerned that a small number of populations are making noise with unconstitutional statements. " Troy Edgar, mayor of Los Alamitos, for his part, says that "it is a constitutional issue." As a veteran, "I was offended when they approved SB54 and I thought we had to make a decision on a national security issue," he said in a telephone conversation.
Edgar believes that an undocumented immigrant who has committed a crime must be turned over to the immigration police. "Living here is an honor. If you are here invited and do something illegal, you lose that right and you must leave. " Edgar is a Republican. He assures, in front of the critics, that he does not do it to attract attention to present himself to another elected official and that he will retire in December after 12 years of public service.
That's why Mike Mendelsohn, 66, does not understand anything. Mendelsohn owns a Mexican restaurant, Baja Sonora, in Los Alamitos, where all the kitchen members speak Spanish. "People can be very stupid," he said this week in his restaurant. "Do you hate Mexicans and come to eat Mexican food? Who do you think cook? " Mendelsohn, who could be the archetypal white of Orange, thinks that "Trump is not conservative, he is a monster". However, the leader of the USA takes pride on those small populations that came to think as him.