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San Clemente could be another Orange County city to challenge California’s sanctuary laws in court — echoing the wave of OC cities jumping on a similar, but unsuccessful, lawsuit in 2018.
At Tuesday’s city council meeting, San Clemente elected officials are slated to discuss joining Huntington Beach’s recently filed lawsuit against the Golden State.
Huntington Beach leaders are suing California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta, challenging state sanctuary laws that limit local law enforcement from working with immigration officials.
The federal lawsuit is focused on a law known as the California Values Act, also called SB 54, which limits state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials by honoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer requests, which could hold a person who’s about to be released from jail for up to 48 hours so ICE agents can pick them up.
[Read: Huntington Beach Sues California Over Sanctuary Laws]
The sanctuary law also bars police agencies from honoring ICE detainer requests unless that person’s been convicted of a violent or serious felony.
If San Clemente joins the lawsuit, it’s expected to cost the city less than $100,000, according to the staff report.
One of the main differences between the two cities is the way they offer police services. Huntington Beach has its own police department, while San Clemente does not.
“Even if a lawsuit is successful, enforcement of the law in San Clemente will be highly dependent on the policies of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department who provides police services to the City,” reads the staff report. “If Orange County decides to remain consistent with the policies established in SB 54, there could be a lack of enforcement in San Clemente.”
Last week, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes released a statement about the limitations of the state’s sanctuary law.
“Sheriffs are limited under California Senate Bill 54 to only communicate with ICE regarding the release of criminal offenders from our custody facilities under very limited circumstances,” Barnes stated. “I have chosen to cooperate with ICE to the fullest extent provided by the law in order to prevent serious offenders from returning to the communities they have preyed upon.”
During the same meeting, council members are also expected to discuss the increase of unlicensed “panga” boats coming ashore in the city, which are often used to transport people into the country.
According to the staff report, there has been an increase in the number of these unlicensed water vessels coming ashore in San Clemente in recent months.
Staff is recommending that the city place contact information for Customs and Border Patrol on the city’s website for residents to contact if they discover a panga boat on the beach in San Clemente.
The discussions come as President Donald Trump has promised a renewed crackdown on border crossings.
At the same time, Sana Ana could be on track to strengthen immigrant protections in the majority Latino city.
[Read: Santa Ana Looks to Boost Immigrant Protections Amid Federal Crackdown]
The San Clemente City Council meeting begins at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday for closed session. The regular meeting is expected to start at 5:30 p.m.
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.
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