Darrell Issa praises municipalities supporting lawsuit challenging California’s sanctuary state laws

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On April 6, Congressman Darrell Issa praised the City of Escondido, as it became the first city in San Diego County to publicly express support for the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit challenging California’s sanctuary state laws.

“If Governor Brown, Attorney General Becerra, and other state leaders in California are going to blatantly disregard the law, California cities, counties, and communities have no other choice than to speak out against them and I applaud those that have done so,” said Congressman Issa, who represents both San Diego and Orange Counties. “With DOJ’s lawsuit, the Trump Administration is sending a clear message to California and signaling to other states that prioritizing political points over protecting public safety will not be tolerated.”

In a vote this week, Mayor Sam Abed and the Escondido City Council decided to file a legal brief supporting DOJ’s position in its lawsuit against California.  Escondido now joins a number of cities in Orange County, as well as the Orange County Board of Supervisors, that have taken similar votes in the past few weeks.  These actions by local communities are the latest following the enactment of sanctuary state laws, which passed the California Legislature last year, with the support of Governor Jerry Brown and the state’s attorney general.  These laws prevent state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials.  Last month, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions filed a lawsuit against California, alleging that the state’s new laws were in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which provides the federal government with superiority when its laws conflict with state laws.