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“The State should get out of the way of local law enforcement, stop handcuffing our police officers and California’s cities, and get back to the business of protecting innocent citizens,” said City Attorney Michael Gates.
It’s no secret that California continues grappling with the negative effects of illegal immigration. The Golden State leads the nation with the highest illegal immigrant population of any state—with conservative estimates placing that total around 2.6 million as of 2022. This is due in no small part to Sacramento’s progressive attitude towards migrants and a 2017 law which cemented California’s status as a sanctuary state.
In an effort to stand up against that law—the constitutionality of which has been questioned—which prohibits state and local resources from assisting federal immigration authorities, Huntington Beach has declared itself a “non-sanctuary city.” Proposed by Mayor Pat Burns as a common sense policy, Resolution No. 2025-01 seeks to promote local safety against crime which has emerged as a consequence of California's failure to contend with illegal immigration.
"We are fighting the Sanctuary State Law because it obstructs our ability to fully enforce the law and keep our community safe," Burns stated. "When the stakes are currently so high, with reports of increases in human trafficking, increases in foreign gangs taking over apartment buildings in the U.S., killing, raping, and committing other violent crimes against our citizens, we need every possible resource available to fight crime, including federal resources."
Mayor Burns, who was a police officer for 30 years before his election to Huntington Beach City Council believes that the city is entitled to a greater degree of authority over its police department. He says that, throughout his career, he “saw the value of cooperation between levels of law enforcement and it was imperative that we were able to do that.”
"To put a fine point, as a Charter City, Huntington Beach’s Police Department does not belong to the State," the filing states. "Rather, the Huntington Beach Police Department belongs to the City—and as such, the Police Department should be free from State interference and control. The City and its Police Department should be, therefore, entirely at liberty to employ every lawful means to combat crime and promote public safety for the City’s 200,000 residents."
City Attorney Michael Gates strongly supports the resolution: “In California in particular, fighting crime is difficult enough with the relaxed criminal laws and lack of enforcement. The State should get out of the way of local law enforcement, stop handcuffing our police officers and California’s cities, and get back to the business of protecting innocent citizens. Emphatically, the State should not take a position of violating federal immigration laws or encouraging cities to violate federal immigration laws,” Gates stated.
The City Council’s conservative majority are no strangers to legal challenges with the state, and Gates has been at the forefront of those battles. Last year, the city was served a lawsuit by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber after Huntington Beach voters approved a measure requiring voter ID municipal elections. In December, the state’s lawsuit was dismissed outright by a Superior Court judge.
The year prior, California also sued Surf City for refusing to comply with the state’s zoning laws and facilitate the construction of more affordable housing. It remains a contentious issue, the outcome of which has widespread implications for local control.
The actions taken in Huntington Beach stand stark in contrast to those of Los Angeles. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass recently reaffirmed Los Angeles’ status as a sanctuary city days after an undocumented Mexican national who entered the country illegally was arrested under suspicion of arson in connection to the recent wildfires. The suspect “will likely be protected by California’s sanctuary city status.”
With the adoption of Resolution No. 2025-01, Huntington Beach hopes to reassert local control over law enforcement and—if past is prelude—will likely refuse to budge under pressure from Sacramento.
“Frankly, we don’t care. They are so dysfunctional, so misguided, and so lawless, that they can bring whatever they want,” Gates said regarding the prospect of a lawsuit from the state. “I would almost welcome them to challenge us.”
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