Huntington Beach Disregards California’s Sanctuary Laws, Directs Police to Work With ICE

Huntington Beach City Council members unanimously agreed to disregard California’s sanctuary authorities instrumentality connected Tuesday night, ordering constabulary officers to enactment with national migration authorities and notify national officials erstwhile they are astir to merchandise an undocumented migrant from jail. 

It comes arsenic Surf City launched a suit against the authorities claiming the existent rules are unconstitutional. 

[Read: Huntington Beach Sues California Over Sanctuary Laws]

Their conflict is playing retired arsenic President Donald Trump steps backmost into the Oval Office, with interim leaders of the national Department of Justice sending retired a memo calling for investigations of authorities and section officials who reason migration enforcement, according to the Associated Press.

“We are going to supply the champion information for our citizens, plain and simple,” said Mayor Pat Burns, who had a bust of Trump adjacent to him connected the dais during Tuesday’s meeting. “It’s going to beryllium what’s champion for Huntington Beach. Huntington Beach first.”

Credit: BRIAN GUEVARA, Voice of OC

Burns’ connection specifically directs the city’s constabulary section to enactment with “federal instrumentality enforcement agencies and honoring ICE [Immigrations and Customs Enforcement] detainers,” claiming it’s the lone mode to forestall quality trafficking and reason pack enactment from amerciable immigrants. 

The detainer directs instrumentality enforcement agencies to notify national migration officials erstwhile an undocumented migrant is astir to beryllium released from jail, including placing an further 48-hour clasp connected the person, according to the ICE website. 

“The City of Huntington Beach, its Police Department, different Departments and its City officials shall employment and deploy each means and assets indispensable to combat transgression and support the citizens of Huntington Beach, including coordinating and communicating with national instrumentality enforcement agencies and honoring ICE detainers,” the city’s solution states. 

It besides directs City Attorney Michael Gates to “take immoderate ineligible enactment necessary” to support the metropolis from immoderate crackdown from the state. 

Newly elected Councilman Butch Twining highlighted respective women crossed the state who’d been assaulted by immigrants, saying the metropolis needed to beryllium “proactive” successful ensuring akin crimes didn’t travel to their shores. 

“Each 1 of them got raped and killed by amerciable aliens,” Twining said astatine Tuesday’s meeting. “We are not being allowed to uphold and support the Constitution of the United States.” 

Santa Ana Goes Another Direction 

The Santa Ana Police Department gathering connected April 6, 2024. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC

On the aforesaid night, 2 officials successful Santa Ana signaled they’re heading successful a antithetic absorption and pledged to support immigrants.

Santa Ana City Councilmembers Jessie Lopez said the migrant and exile communities are nether onslaught and encouraged residents to larn their rights.

“This onslaught connected our assemblage is incorrect for truthful galore reasons,” she said during Tuesday’s meeting. “Refugees and immigrants bring invaluable contributions to our economy. They enrich our civilization and embody the values of resilience and hope.”

Lopez said she would advocator for initiatives to support immigrants successful Santa Ana and called the national migration concern “dark times” and an onslaught by the caller statesmanlike administration.

Santa Ana officials designated the municipality a sanctuary metropolis successful precocious 2016, soon aft Trump was elected to his archetypal term. 

[Read: It’s Official, Santa Ana Is Orange County’s First Sanctuary City] 

Santa Ana City Councilman Ben Vazquez echoed Lopez’s remarks.

“In these challenging times, arsenic the national authorities enacts stringent migration policies our committedness to our undocumented assemblage remains unwavering,” helium said.

Increased Crime? 

Huntington Beach Mayor Burns’ point did not see immoderate notation of transgression statistic successful the city, and nary crimes successful Surf City were mentioned by different metropolis assembly members. 

According to information from Huntington Beach collected by the California Department of Justice, convulsive transgression successful the metropolis fell by 16% from 2022 to 2023, the latest twelvemonth for which information is available, on with an 11% driblet successful spot transgression that year. 

Overall, convulsive transgression is up 7% from 2014, and spot transgression is down 8%. 

In the 2024-25 budget, the Huntington Beach Police Department noted they investigated 109 “human trafficking and internet/sex crimes cases” for the year, but did not enactment however galore of those moved to prosecution. 

The twelvemonth before, they investigated 135 of those cases.

A Huntington Beach Police motorcycle parked astatine the Huntington Beach Civic Center connected Sept. 17, 2024. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC

The fund besides noted that constabulary investigated 133 “narcotic related national complaints” and disposed of 845 pounds of narcotics implicit the year. 

City Attorney Gates pointed to reports that 1 of the wildfires successful LA was started by an undocumented immigrant, and that LA’s sanctuary metropolis laws meant that helium would not beryllium deported. 

“They are not coordinating with the national authorities due to the fact that of the sanctuary authorities law,” Gates said. “This is connected our doorstep.” 

Newly elected Councilman Don Kennedy highlighted however helium ran for bureau connected nationalist safety, and that the extremity was to bring the top level of information to American citizens. 

“Governments’ apical precedence is nationalist safety,” Kennedy said. “To contradict practice is incorrect.” 

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