Before Trump's inauguration, El Cajon joins the immigration discussion

The city's "intent to assist federal immigration authorities in their enforcement efforts to the maximum legal extent permissible" was to be affirmed by the proposed resolution. In an effort to shed light on the conflict between state and federal regulations, the municipal council of El Cajon is drafting a resolution to reaffirm its collaboration with federal immigration authorities in the face of immigration-related concerns during President-elect Donald Trump's second term. Public comments on the legislation were passionate during Tuesday's city council meeting. Some citizens expressed their belief that the policy would undermine their faith in local police enforcement, while others thought that it unfairly targeted the city's Latino community. The city's "intent to assist federal immigration authorities in their enforcement efforts to the maximum legal extent permissible" was to be affirmed by the proposed resolution. In a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta last month, it also included a request for clarification regarding the extent of Senate Bill 54, a state law passed in 2017 that restricts state and local involvement in deportations with certain exceptions for those convicted of offenses like assault or battery. Prior to the second Trump administration, when he ran on a platform of undefined "mass deportations," the letter urged Bonta to list any possible problems between that state law and federal immigration enforcement. That letter has not been answered by Bonta, and his office did not reply to a request for comment on Thursday. After the municipal council sent the resolution back to staff for revised wording, it was finally tabled. Councilmember Steve Goble stated on Thursday, "I believe there was a lot of misunderstanding in the original language that came out of the resolution." Actually, preserving public safety is my main priority. The federal government will have my assistance. We ought to. "We require clarification," Goble added. "The new administration has a different perspective on enforcement than the previous one, and there are also issues with the state. Instead of placing ourselves in the middle, we need the two of them to get together and work out their disagreements. Pedro Rios, the director of the American Friends Service Committee, opposed the motion at the council meeting, saying, "The wording implied that migrants were people to be afraid of, people that were prone to criminality." SB 54 restricts local law enforcement's ability to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, he said. "The federal government's upcoming administration intends to deport a large number of persons. Without the assistance of local law enforcement, it is unable to accomplish that," Rios stated. The state government is saying, 'We can't do that,' which is where there is a conflict of interest. "We don't want to do that," and "Now you have to do that," according to the federal government. Rios said, like many others, he anticipated that disputes like these would lead to legal action, with Bonta's office suing the federal government. Following the November election, Governor Gavin Newsom convened a special legislative session, and a major topic of discussion will be the funds and resources for just that. Reference: https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/el-cajon-immigration-debate-trump-inauguration/3726410/

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