President Trump’s executive order targeting ‘sanctuary’ laws called ‘extortion,’ xenophobic

The Trump administration s latest efforts following his tough immigration agenda are targeted at jurisdictions that declare themselves sanctuaries for undocumented immigrants Just before celebrating his th day in office on Tuesday the president signed new executive orders intended at ramping up restrictions on U S immigration including his mass deportation campaign One directive instructs Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Safeguard Secretary Kristi Noem to provide a list of states and local cities that obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration laws Both offices have days to publish the list according to the order entitled Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens Related Articles Green card holder living in Santa Cruz area for decades facing several months in ICE detention Record Trump administration eyeing Bay Area air force base for immigration facility Mental vitality services lacking in immigration detention centers California analysis finds Numbers that matter from the first days of Trump s second term Trump admin restores legal status for international students in Bay Area In his order Trump revealed millions of aliens were allowed to unlawfully enter the U S during the Biden administration resulting in serious national defense concerns exacerbated by the presence of international cartels terrorists and other criminal organizations actors along the frontier He called it an invasion which requires the establishment to take measures to fulfill its obligation to citizens safety The order threatens to cut federal funds for those states counties and cities that have declared sanctuary preventing or limiting cooperation with U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE activity Local jurisdictions that find themselves on the list could danger losing federal funding or face doable criminal and civil rights lawsuits if they continue to resist Trump s immigration agenda But Trump s executive order was issued less than one week after a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that the Trump administration cannot withhold federal funding from cities and counties that have passed the sanctuary laws Sanctuary city supporters gather outside city hall during the City Council meeting in Long Beach on Tuesday Sept File photo by Scott Varley Press-Telegram SCNG A -year-old day laborer leaves with a contractor who offered work on a parking lot in Pomona days after an immigration raid outside Home Depot on Friday April Photo by Milka Soko Contributing Photographer A protester crosses Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach on Saturday April Groups opposed to illegal immigration held a protest calling for the end to California s Sanctuary City Law and marched down Pacific Coast Highway A counter-protest held by Indivisible OC and Occupy ICE L A occurred across the street Photo by Kevin Sullivan Orange County Register SCNG The DEA s Los Angeles office posted these images on social media in January Laborers looking for work gather in a parking lot in Pomona days after an immigration raid outside Home Depot on Friday April Photo by Milka Soko Contributing Photographer The Huntington Beach City Council meets to consider Mayor Pat Burns initiative to declare the city a non-sanctuary city in Huntington Beach on Tuesday Jan Photo by Leonard Ortiz Orange County Register SCNG Members of immigration advocacy groups react as Los Angeles City Council votes to enact an ordinance to prohibit city information from being used for immigration enforcement in anticipation of expected mass deportations under President-elect Donald Trump inside Los Angeles City Hall on Tuesday Nov AP Photo Damian Dovarganes Show Caption of Sanctuary city supporters gather outside city hall during the City Council meeting in Long Beach on Tuesday Sept File photo by Scott Varley Press-Telegram SCNG Expand California leaders have taken a strong stance against Trump policies declaring the California Values Act referred to as the sanctuary state protocol which provides a few protection for undocumented residents shielding state and local police from inspecting interrogating or arresting people for immigration enforcement purposes Signed in it limits but not entirely prohibits police cooperation with ICE The president is trying to solely enforce our nation s immigration laws and is facing roadblock after roadblock White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed Monday in a press briefing with edge czar Tom Homan We re complying with court orders but as Homan has mentioned every day we re going to continue to forge ahead with this mass deportation campaign and the president is open to all remedies to do that Obey the law respect the law and don t obstruct federal immigration administrators and law enforcement bureaucrats Leavitt added when they are exclusively trying to remove masses safety threats from our nation s communities A few Southern California cities like Los Angeles Long Beach and San Diego have made moves in up-to-date past to officially declare sanctuary status and not comply should ICE show up at people s doors L A County and the Inland Empire have seen several ICE raids and enforcement efforts including most of in the past few days in Pomona last week when immigration officers picked up a group of day laborers outside of a Home Depot These acts have sparked fear in local communities Before Trump took office the L A City Council voted last fall to formally establish Los Angeles as a sanctuary city for refugees prohibiting city tools or personnel from being used to help federal enforcement of immigration laws The same day L A Unified School District board members unanimously reaffirmed its declaration of being a sanctuary district and would not aid ICE activity Federal immigration agents were denied entry at two LAUSD schools in April The activity caused major backlash from the superintendent and school communities In March L A city councilmembers declared that around will be saved to maintain immigration legal services to cover any feasible gap in federal funding They also approved a motion that would explore techniques to require businesses to record any ICE activity and inform workers of their rights ahead of any promising raids Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez who co-authored L A s sanctuary city ordinance stated that Trump already tried this and failed because it s unconstitutional This is just another scare tactic to get us to follow his authoritarian agenda But it s not going to work Soto-Martinez noted L A Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez deemed the executive order a desperate and shortsighted political stunt California powered by immigrants is the engine of the nation s business activity and Los Angeles leads with strength not fear Hernandez noted in a message We stand by the common-sense truth that every human being deserves dignity safety and opportunity and we will not be bullied into abandoning our neighbors or our values In Long Beach which declared itself a sanctuary city back in immigration activists demanded the Long Beach Values Act upholding the California Values Act be further strengthened ahead of Trump s inauguration in January The act developed with local organizations and region stakeholders aims to further protect and advocate for Long Beach s undocumented residents It directs staff to share multilingual information to educate district members on their rights and any available materials In Santa Ana became the only city in Orange County to adopt sanctuary laws into its city charter prohibiting the use of city tools for immigration enforcement In February amid growing fears brought on by threats of mass deportations the City Council reaffirmed its dedication to protecting all citizens regardless of immigration status Santa Ana Councilmember Jessie Lopez was concerned the Trump administration would target Santa Ana for its sanctuary laws This feels like extortion plain and simple Lopez declared Tuesday They re essentially saying you need to betray your society Get in line or else and I am unwilling to do that We know that the foundation of these executive orders is based on racism and xenophobia and it s wrong The fight to protect immigrant residents is a personal one she mentioned I m here because my family dared to dream dared to survive and now I have the opportunity to serve the area that raised me Lopez commented I m not going to betray my constituents I m not going to turn my back on them I m not going to be silent Speaking for residents who are afraid and overwhelmed Lopez explained that with any executive order we are just making sure that we understand what tools we legally have available to protect our constituents In April Anaheim leaders unanimously declared their town a welcoming city to immigrants hoping to quell growing fears Huntington Beach took the opposite stance declaring itself a non-sanctuary city earlier this year following an initial round of immigration-related executive orders Trump issued on day one Leaders in other jurisdictions that have not officially declared sanctuary status but have spoken out also raised the alarm In Riverside County with over undocumented residents estimated various county leaders took a stand At a county Board of Supervisors meeting in late January supervisors V Manuel Perez and Yxstian Gutierrez proposed procedures to protect immigrant residents and local communities from the threat of raids and deportations The duo sought creation of a webpage on immigrant rights and information a summary on how Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals DACA information is protected and funding to sponsorship law-abiding undocumented immigrants facing deportation The motion to look into how DACA statistics is stored passed unanimously though there was disagreement from chosen group members worried the board was attempting to create a sanctuary county A great number of local immigration rights advocates expressed their frustration over the latest move in Trump s immigration crackdown but promised their fight would continue Since the inauguration TODEC Legal Center in Perris has hosted multiple bilingual Know Your Rights sessions for undocumented communities They aim to educate immigrants and family members on what to do if approached by agents in an ICE raid Luz Gallegos the center s executive director called the executive order just the latest political threat Threats don t erase court rulings or society rights Attacks on sanctuary policies have been tried before and the courts have consistently identified these attacks to be unconstitutional Gallegos stated In communities like ours and across this country immigrants keep our economies strong We must continue supporting and protecting these workers their families and their rights The San Bernardino-based Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice provides similar workshops and legal aid to immigrant families Leaders commented the group aims to fight Trump s orders speaking at population forums and offering support such as a hotline where people can assessment achievable ICE or U S Edge Patrol activity In early April the coalition led a tour of an ICE processing center in Adelanto near Victorville with members of the California Latino Legislative Caucus The nonprofit announced it strongly condemns the Trump administration s renewed attacks on sanctuary cities These executive orders are rooted in xenophobia not in inhabitants safety noted Eddie Torres the group s procedures director Sanctuary cities reflect our values of compassion dignity and justice and we will continue to fight for the right of all families to live free from fear The IE is home to over a million immigrants who contribute every day to the fabric of the region organizers explained We stand with local leaders advocates and allies across the country who are resisting these harmful policies and working toward a future where every person is treated with dignity and respect regardless of immigration status Torres added Alianza Translatinx an LGBTQ rights organization based in Santa Ana declared that group members have been progressing in fighting for immigration rights The nonprofit is led by CEO Khloe Rios-Wyatt a formerly undocumented trans woman Fear is their weapon resilience is ours revealed Rios-Wyatt The fight for immigrant dignity is permanent At Alianza Translatinx we stand with our people in the current era the following morning and every day after The LA-based Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights CHIRLA echoed a similar response calling Trump s actions part of the administration s fearmongering campaign We uphold the principles and values of our immigration laws and the constitution Since Trump was a candidate for president he has disclosed that he isn t against immigration as long as people do it the right way and follow the law executive director Angelica Salas explained in an April news conference These words ring hollow in the present day as we all bear witness to action after action decision after decision that systemically tries to tear away laws and institutions Pablo Alvarado from National Day Laborer Organizing Infrastructure based in Pasadena was confident that Trump s legal attacks on sanctuary cities are unlawful and we are confident that they will fail in court The administration says it will not stop until all the immigrants it considers undesirables are arrested and removed Alvarado revealed They want to erase us But this will not happen because we fight together we win Staff writers Destiny Torres Michael Slaten Christina Merino Teresa Liu and City News Arrangement contributed to this assessment