The Trump administration has sued California to block enforcement of three state “sanctuary” laws that limit state cooperation with federal immigration officials.
The lawsuit, filed late Tuesday in federal court in Sacramento, serves as a warning to other states contemplating sanctuary protection laws that aim to keep states out of the business of helping to round up suspected undocumented immigrants.
The Department of Justice contends the state laws violate the U.S. Constitution because they make it much tougher for federal immigration officials to do their jobs and that the state has no authority to regulate the conduct of federal immigration agenda.
The California sanctuary provisions “violate the Supremacy Clause by, among other things, constituting an obstacle to the United States’ enforcement of the immigration laws and discriminating against federal immigration enforcement,” the suit states.
Gov. Jerry Brown called the lawsuit a “political stunt.”
The first statute, the Immigrant Worker Protection Act, prohibits private employers in California from voluntarily cooperating with federal officials who seek information enforcement in the workplace.
The second statute creates and inspection scheme to review how immigration enforcement is conducted by federal agents.
The third is the California Values Act, which limits the ability of state and local law enforcement from providing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with information about individuals in their custody.
The lawsuit contends the laws are preempted by federal authority over immigration.
It seeks an injunction blocking the laws and preventing future enforcement.
Case: US v. State of California, No. 18-264
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