WASHINGTON, D.C. – America First Legal (AFL) has filed an amended lawsuit against the State of California, Governor Gavin Newsom, and Attorney General Robert Bonta on behalf of the City of Huntington Beach, which AFL is representing pro bono, alongside the Huntington Beach City Attorney’s Office, to protect citizens by overturning the state’s illegal “Sanctuary State Laws,” which violate federal immigration, criminal, and civil rights laws.
California’s Sanctuary State Laws drastically limit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement authorities, shield illegal aliens, and threaten public safety. Since California began passing sanctuary laws in 2017, tens of thousands of dangerous criminal illegal aliens have been released by local law enforcement back into the community, and violent crime has surged nearly 20 percent across the state.
In 2018, Orange County released over 1,000 illegal alien inmates with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers into the community. California law prohibited local law enforcement from notifying ICE, and nearly 200 of these criminal illegal aliens were subsequently rearrested for heinous and violent crimes, including attempted murder, assault and battery, child molestation, and robbery.
This pattern continues, year after year. In 2023, Orange County released over 500 illegal alien inmates with ICE detainers into the community. At least 40 of these criminal illegal aliens were later rearrested for committing new crimes in the area.
The lawsuit alleges that California’s Sanctuary State Laws limit not only local law enforcement’s ability to carry out effective law enforcement practices, but also direct local officials, including Huntington Beach Police, to violate federal immigration and criminal statutes, including 8 U.S.C. §§ 1324, 1373, 1644, and 18 U.S.C. §§ 4, 371, 372, and 1512. Additionally, California’s Sanctuary State Laws violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which establishes that federal laws are supreme over state laws and requires state laws that conflict with federal laws to yield to the federal government.
Accordingly, the lawsuit urges the court to enjoin California from enforcing its unconstitutional Sanctuary State Laws and restore the City of Huntington Beach’s ability to protect its citizens from violent criminals to the fullest extent.
AFL fought relentlessly to protect American citizens from the Biden-Harris Administration’s open borders and its brazen, contemptible, and unprecedented assault on our immigration laws; AFL is fighting sanctuary jurisdictions with equal vigor. For example:
- In September 2024, AFL launched an investigation into the expansion of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) into major cities, revealing how unlawful sanctuary policies and the elected officials who impose them are actively shielding criminal illegal aliens and endangering U.S. citizens.
- In December 2024, AFL sent letters to elected officials in sanctuary jurisdictions across the country, including California AG Robert Bonta, warning them of the legal consequences they could face for interfering with or impeding federal immigration enforcement and for concealing, harboring, or shielding illegal aliens.
- In December 2024, AFL created Sanctuary Strongholds, a resource providing the American people with the information they need to track sanctuary jurisdictions and hold the elected officials responsible for them accountable.
Now, together with the City of Huntington Beach, AFL has sued both the State of California, the largest and most dangerous sanctuary jurisdiction in the nation, and California Governor Gavin Newsom, a leading advocate and architect of open borders and illegal immigration.
Accountability is coming. AFL will continue fighting illegal sanctuary policies throughout America that protect criminal illegal aliens, destroy communities, and harm American citizens.
Statement from James Rogers, America First Legal Senior Counsel:
“Federal law is clear: it is a crime to conceal, harbor, or shield illegal aliens, and it is a crime to prevent federal officials from discharging their duties. It is also against federal law to prevent local officials from communicating with DHS about the immigration status of individuals. Our nation’s immigration laws reflect the democratic will of the people, and it is disgraceful that the State of California is actively trying to subvert it while at the same time facilitating the invasion of our country. It is outrageous that the City of Huntington Beach has to seek a court order allowing it to comply with federal law and so that it can be allowed to cooperate with legitimate federal law enforcement efforts. America First Legal is proud to represent the City of Huntington Beach in its stand for sanity and the rule of law. AFL will fight vigorously to push back California’s subversion of federal law,” said James Rogers.
Read the amended complaint here.
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