Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democratic Legislature recently signed legislation to make California a sanctuary state. We have all heard the horror stories of illegal felons committing horrible acts, and one even happened a little too close to home. Kate Steinle was a Cal Poly graduate who was shot by an illegal immigrant in San Francisco who was deported seven times and had over five felony convictions.
Law enforcement has been adamantly against making California a sanctuary state from the start. Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown expressed his opposition to the law, saying, “It’s a hazardous law for Californians and people sworn to protect and serve Californians and we would like to see it changed.” So why won’t U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal back our law enforcement and take a stand against sanctuary cities?
I attended Rep. Carbajal’s Town Hall in Morro Bay and when asked about sanctuary cities, he just referred to it being a state rights issue. I am sorry, Rep. Carbajal, but that answer simply won’t work. The voters have already seen you go against our law enforcement by voting against common-sense legislation like Kate’s Law. We need to know if you are for creating a safety net for illegal felons in our cities. Losing one life is a life too many, and if another incident happens, the blood will be on your hands.
Goleta
This article appears in October 19-29, 2017.
In a more sane and just world, all cities, counties and states would be sanctuary places. Undocumented workers are not the problem. If the US does not want undocumented people from crossing it’s borders, it should probably put an end to it’s numerous insane trade policies and actions which make it impossible for a person in Latin America and elsewhere impossible to support their families. Assassinations, torture, death squads, mass slaughter, support of brutal right wing regimes, massive pollution, and numerous crimes of US and corporate malfeasance make coming into the US seem like the only alternative. When you burn down a person’s home, you probably shouldn’t be too surprised to find them sleeping under your porch when it is raining… That, and no person is illegal….
Sanctuary cities started as a protest against the (IMO, rather harsh) limits of legal immigration. Making the entire state a sanctuary is stupid. Like burning down your house in protest of zoning laws.