The state of California could soon have a major headache on its hands.
Days after Los Alamitos voted to exempt itself from California’s sanctuary state law, a number of municipalities appear poised to consider doing the same.
“There’s a pretty good amount of cities interested and they want to know about the process,” said Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar. Right now, most of them are in Orange County, but the movement could easily spread to other conservative regions of the state.
“It is a great thing what they did…I think they were spot-on; that we take the oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States,” said Mayor Dave Harrington of Aliso Viejo, another Orange County city. He said the council will discuss a similar policy at its April 4 meeting.
Councilwoman Beth Swift of Buena Park also applauded Los Alamitos’ move and says she’ll lead an anti-sanctuary effort there. Upland, Fullerton, and Huntington Beach are also possible targets for anti-sanctuary activists looking to spur similar legislation.
A countywide policy is even possible -- however unlikely -- in Orange. Supervisor Michelle Steel thanked Los Alamitos for its efforts this week and said she would “urge the County of Orange and all of our cities to do the same.”
State legislators issued a warning shot to any local governments thinking about following in Los Alamitos’ footsteps.
The council’s “symbolic vote in favor of President Trump’s racist immigration enforcement policies is disappointing,” said Senate leader Kevin de León said in an e-mail. “Local governments that attempt to break state law will saddle their residents with unnecessary and expensive litigation costs.”
The ACLU has also warned Los Alamitos that it’s playing with fire. If the city adopts the same posture at its second reading of the ordinance on April 16, it will open itself up to lawsuits, the organization said.