Los Alamitos, Orange County’s second-smallest city, voted Monday night to exempt itself from the laws of California, the nation’s largest state when it comes to Senate Bill 54 the new so-called “sanctuary state law”, which limits cooperation between local agencies and federal immigration authorities.
The Los Alamitos City Council voted 4-1 following more than two hours of heated testimony from 53 residents and non-residents on both sides of the issue. With the vote, the community — already nationally known for its schools, sports teams, show choirs, and small town charm and friendliness — now finds itself at the center of a rebellion against California’s “sanctuary” policies.
[Below, complete Los Al City Council meeting for March 19, 2018. Agenda Item 12a begins discussion at 1:04.]
Although opponents try to portray the vote as an anti-illegal immigration issue, the council members emphasized the main issue was whether the state had the legal right to require city officials to follow a state law which would violate their oath of office to support and defend the U.S. Constitution. Four members of the council — Warren Kusumoto, Troy Edgar, Shelley Hasselbrink and Richard Murphy — voted that they didn’t and thus opted out of the provision of the new state law, with some citing Article 6 of the Constitution, which says in matters that conflict, the United States shall be supreme.
Local TV news crews with their vans started arriving at City Hall at 11am and stayed well after most of the crowds had left in order to file their reports for the 11pm news shows.
Some of the reports are embedded below.
KABC 7
KTTV 11
KCBS2
- Los Alamitos Votes to Opt Out of California Sanctuary Law (OC Register)
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This city wants nothing to do California’s ‘sanctuary state’ laws. Will it start a new resistance? (LA Times)
- Los Alamitos Councilman to state lawmakers on sanctuary law: You’re ‘bullying us’ (feature on Los Al councilman Warren Kusumoto) (Press-Telegram, March 19, 2018)
