Victory! California City Rejects Sanctuary State Lawlessness

After moving through other city business, the ordinance sponsor, Councilman Kusumoto, explained the reason for this proposal. First, he had hoped that SB 54 would not pass, but such hopes seem hopelessly naïve now, especially since power-hungry Democrats want to run for statewide or federal office based on defying President Trump. He pointed out to the public that SB 54 places law enforcement in a precariously tight position. Business owners are damned either way. If they comply with ICE for a business audit, State Attorney General Becerra has promised to fine and prosecute those business owners. Mayor Pro Tem Warren Kusumoto, himself a descendant of Japanese immigrants who moved to Hawaii then California, wanted to resolve the intractable conflict between federal and state laws and had worked for five months on his proposed ordinance with the help of his colleagues.

Proponents emphasized the rule of law and public safety. Genevieve Peters of Sherman Oaks talked about the American Revolution, in which our forefathers fought against a government undermining our rights. Elsa Aldequer of Winnetka, a legal immigrant from El Salvador, talked about how illegal aliens are making her communities less safe as well as depriving Americans of jobs. The opponents slammed the “racist, anti-immigrant Trump Administration” for suing the state of California. One Los Alamitos resident shared that she feared for her and her daughter’s safety walking down the street if the city rejected SB 54. If she was legal, what does she have to worry about?

Another resident pointed to the three flags on the city seal as a reminder of where the city comes from. Of course, enforcement of immigration laws does not signal anti-immigrant sentiment--quite the contrary. Two other hostile elements erupted on the scene opposing the ordinance, including a troubled young woman called “RG. Wong.” Twice she shrieked at the audience “Shut the hell up!” while decrying the proposed ordinance. She then flipped off detractors as she stormed out of the room. Then notable irritant Naui Huitzilopochtli, a radical who believes that the American Southwest is “stolen land,” spent more time attacking members of the audience than speaking to the ordinance itself, Other high school and college students gave emotional pleas about separating families and targeting otherwise law-abiding immigrants. The Left loves to lump together legal immigrants and illegal aliens into one group, “immigrant.” That is really offensive, and one member of the audience blasted that abuse of the English Language. For the first time in recent memory for me as an activist, a comparable number of people in the audience were pro-immigration enforcement and pro-Trump.

Finally, the city councilmembers offered their views on the ordinance. Two were concerned about the potential cost and effectiveness of a city ordinance. Councilwoman Hasselbrink applauded everyone, including the children, for speaking out. She then pivoted to the fundamental premise of the discussion, as simple as high school civics. If there is a conflict between federal and state law, the federal law must be followed, as per Article VI, Section 2 of the United States Constitution. She disparaged opponents for ignoring the distinction between legal and illegal, just as “there is a difference between driving and drunk driving.”

Finally, Councilman Kusumoto signaled his continued support to clear up the confusion wrought by SB 54. He asserted that this issue goes beyond immigration to the rule of law itself. Then Mayor Troy Edgar explained his stance. City councilmembers face a hard task. They have to reconcile differences among their colleagues and within the community. “This is activism,” he pointed to the audience, and it’s not always easy or nice. He then disparaged the argument from opponents who claimed that the city of Los Alamitos is too small a locale to take on this issue. “We lead in safety and schools. We should lead on this issue, too.” With that, the city voted 4-1 to opt out of SB 54 and follow federal immigration law. The audience burst into applause. I leapt for joy, along with fellow Trump supporters. We hugged each other to celebrate this small victory—which we hope will lead to more cities siding with the United States Constitution.

Ann Coulter joked that Trump should build a wall and keep California out. Sorry Ann, but there are 4.5 million Trump supporters in the once-Golden State, and we are starting a second American Revolution, a restoration of the rule of law and the United States Constitution within our own state.