San Diego County is likely to join the Trump administration’s lawsuit against California’s so-called “sanctuary state” law, a “cautiously optimistic” Supervisor Dianne Jacob told Fox News Channel Monday.
Jacob said she believes the Board of Supervisors will vote at least 3-2 in support of the lawsuit, which the supervisors are set to disscuss in a closed-door meeting with the county attorney on April 17.
The court case targets Senate Bill 54, which limits cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.
“This is a major public safety issue,” Jacob said of the laws. “Let’s be clear — this is about people who are coming into our country illegally and they’re breaking the law — they’re criminals.”
Jacob, who represents largely rural East County, is the only supervisor who has publicly endorsed joining the lawsuit.
Supervisor Greg Cox, who represents the South Bay, said sheriff’s deputies “should not be forced to carry out immigration duties,” but others on the board, including Chairwoman Kristin Gaspar, have declined to make their position on the matter public.
San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore has taken a neutral position on the law, as has the California Police Chiefs Association, though the California State Sheriffs’ Association opposes it.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors became the largest local government in California to side with President Donald Trump on immigration, voting unanimously last week to join the federal lawsuit.
Both the San Diego and Orange County boards are entirely composed of Republicans.
The San Diego supervisors at the April 17 meeting will also discuss the lawsuit filed against the Trump administration by California officials over a question on the decennial census that asks about citizenship status, Gaspar said. A question about citizenship was last included on the census in 1950.
— From Staff and Wire Reports