Huntington Beach City Council Votes Unanimously to be a Non-Sanctuary City

The Huntington Beach City Council voted unanimously 7-0 on Tuesday to become a “Non-Sanctuary City” for illegal immigrants, becoming the first city in California to actively oppose the California state sanctuary law and allow law enforcement in the city to work with ICE and other federal agencies in enforcing immigration policies.

Currently in California, the entire state has “sanctuary” protections. Passed in 2017 and signed into law in 2018 by Governor Jerry Brown, Senate Bill 54 prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies in California from assisting federal immigration authorities. By not allowing state law enforcement money or manpower being used for immigration enforcement, it in effect created a sanctuary for illegal immigrants who were arrested. While they can still be punished under California law, SB 54 halted or delayed outright deportation.

The election of Donald Trump in November prompted many cities and counties to create their own sanctuary city or county laws, including San Diego County and the city of Los Angeles. In addition, the state “Trump-proofed” the existing sanctuary laws, making it more difficult for ICE to get any kind of local help.

However, many cities in California also went the opposite way, looking to either be legally exempt from sanctuary laws, or reversing earlier laws the city passed to “de-sanctuary” themselves. Since November, the most prominent city to do this is Huntington Beach, which has been working to exempt itself from sanctuary laws. Huntington Beach has fought such laws dating back to when SB 54 first became law seven years ago. But with Trump being sworn into office on Monday, things changed rapidly.

At the federal level, Trump signed seven executive orders pertaining to illegal immigration on his first day in office, undoing many Biden-era policies and going after birthright citizenship. While many of the orders were immediately challenged in the courts, with Attorney General Rob Bonta even attaching himself to some of the suits, they nonetheless showed where the second Trump administration stood on the illegal immigration issue and the direction further policies would go.

Emboldened by this, the Huntington Beach City Council moved forward with their “Non-Sanctuary City for Illegal Immigration for the Prevention of Crime” resolution on Tuesday, passing it in a 7-0 vote. Under the resolution, the city would ignore the state sanctuary laws in favor of assisting federal law enforcement officials for the purpose of public safety. According to the author of the resolution, Mayor Pat Burns, it will further allow city police to inform ICE and other federal law enforcement of when illegal immigrants are to be released from the city jail.

A new law in Huntington Beach

“This is in the best interest of our community, Huntington Beach, to make sure that we utilize every facet of law enforcement we can to make it the best place to live,” said Mayor Burns during the Council meeting. “I am pleased the City Council unanimously supported my initiative.  This will be another effective tool to combat crime and it will be a signal to would-be criminals, do not come to Huntington Beach.”

Other Councilmembers also praised the resolution following its passage.

“If we want to voluntarily cooperate with federal authorities to protect our community, that is absolutely our prerogative,” added Councilman Chad Williams. “It’s just basic common sense. Why wouldn’t you want to use every tool available to keep your community safe?”

A city press release on Tuesday further confirmed the resolutions wordage, specifically challenging the state sanctuary law as well as Governor Gavin Newsom.

“As the City Council Members commented, the intent of this Resolution is to deliberately sidestep the Governor’s efforts to subvert the good work of federal immigration authorities and to announce the City’s cooperation with the federal government, the Trump Administration, and Border Czar Tom Homan’s work,” said the city press release. “This new City policy and Declaration are common sense, supports our law enforcement, and advances public safety throughout the City.  What the Governor is doing does not.  Neither the Governor nor the State Legislature with the passage of laws may interfere with the City’s voluntary cooperation with federal authorities, nor cause or compel the City to violate federal laws such as Title 8 Section 1324 for the harboring of illegal immigrants.

“City Officials have a duty to follow all laws, including federal immigration laws and neither the Governor nor the State will interfere with that.  The City encourages other cities to join Huntington Beach by adopting their own Resolutions.”

Other Californian cities are currently looking into similar resolutions. One resolution from the San Diego suburb of El Cajon nearly beat Huntington Beach as the first city to pass such legislation last week, but were forced to delay their vote following public outcry. However, the big question now is what the state will do about the passed resolution, as many other cities are waiting to see what the state response will be. As of Wednesday night, Attorney General Bonta, who vowed to take to court any city going against the state law, has yet to take action against Huntington Beach. According to those familiar with the law, this is most likely because of Bonta being swamped with other legal challenges the past few days.

“All the Trump suits, as well as others like going after cities violating CEQA, have been keeping him bogged down,” explained Lawyer James Haines to the Globe on Wednesday. “Make no mistake though, the state will go after Huntington Beach. If not now, it will be after the first instance of a Huntington Beach police officer helping an ICE agent get an illegal immigrant for deportation. That way they have a smoking gun so to speak.

“The wait may also be because other cities are deciding on this right now. You know, California may want to see what cities are going against state law, then sue all of them and make an example. But one thing is for certain. Trump being elected in, him passing all those orders, and then Huntington Beach passing the resolution is making many in Bonta’s office very upset. This is worst case scenario for them. The president, federal agencies, and now even their own cities are going against them.

“Huntington Beach may just be the beginning.”