THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER | Published November 24, 2024
While most of the country took President-elect Donald Trump’s victory calmly, California has emerged as something of an exception.
Shortly after Trump’s victory, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) called a special session of the state legislature to “safeguard California values and fundamental rights in the face of an incoming Trump administration.” Others took their own initiatives — Los Angeles declared itself a sanctuary city for immigrants. However, the move was largely symbolic, as California itself is already a sanctuary state.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW THAT TRUMP IS PRESIDENT-ELECT
Sanctuary cities and states limit their cooperation with immigration authorities in order to protect illegal immigrants. The status of sanctuary cities was a huge area of contention under the Trump administration. Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, warned Democratic officials in sanctuary cities and states that they could be prosecuted if they impede deportation efforts.
However, as Republican Assemblyman Bill Essayli explained to the Washington Examiner, the Trump administration could force an end to California’s sanctuary status through less overt, but possibly more effective means.
“Now I think what could be done, what should be done, is Congress… a lot of ways that Congress can shape state policies is with money,” he explained. “That’s how they use highway funds to basically set the speed limit nationwide, and say, ‘You’re not getting highway dollars unless your speed limits are X.’
“They nationalized the drinking age at 21, they did that using highway transportation funds. So the Congress could certainly withhold federal funds and say, ‘Look, you’re not going to get these tax dollars unless you revoke your sanctuary state laws,’ because Congress doesn’t have to give the states any money.”
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SOURCE: www.washingtonexaminer.com
RELATED: How Democrats will try to block Trump’s promise of mass deportations
Six top blue-state law enforcement officials tell POLITICO about their early strategies to counter the incoming president.
Six leading blue-state prosecutors said they are girding to take Trump to court over misusing military troops on domestic soil, attempting to commandeer local or state law enforcement and denying people’s constitutional right to due process. | Damian Dovarganes/AP
POLITICO | Published November 24, 2024
Democratic attorneys general are preparing a raft of legal actions to prevent Donald Trump from carrying out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, setting the stage for a series of showdowns over one of his central campaign pledges.
In interviews with POLITICO, six leading blue-state prosecutors said they are girding to take Trump to court over misusing military troops on domestic soil, attempting to commandeer local or state law enforcement to do the job of the federal government and denying people’s constitutional right to due process.
The attorneys general also said they would move to challenge Trump if he tries to federalize the National Guard — or attempts to direct active-duty military units or National Guard troops from red states into blue states. They are bracing to push back against his administration sending immigration agents into schools and hospitals to target vulnerable populations.
And they are preparing to fight Trump over withholding federal funding from local law enforcement agencies in an attempt to induce them into carrying out deportations, as he did unsuccessfully in his first term.
The attorneys’ preparations underscore the depth of concern among blue-state leaders about Trump’s deportation plans and foreshadow the major role state prosecutors will continue to play in shaping the country’s immigration policy. Following a rash of red-state challenges to President Joe Biden’s immigration agenda over the last four years, it’s now blue-state attorneys who are positioned to set off another round of legal clashes — this time intended to stymie Trump on his signature issue.
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