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The City of Huntington Beach filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), and state Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) over the state’s sanctuary law that shields illegal aliens from federal immigration authorities.

The lawsuit argued that California Senate Bill 54, signed into law by former Gov. Jerry Brown (D) in 2017, is “unconstitutional” and prohibits local jurisdictions from complying with federal immigration laws.

‘Huntington Beach will not sit idly by and allow the obstructionist Sanctuary State Law to put our 200,000 residents at risk of harm from those who seek to commit violent crimes on US soil.’

“California’s Sanctuary State Law not only limits the ability of City officials, including Huntington Beach Police personnel, to engage in fullest of effective law enforcement practices, but it directs City officials, including Huntington Beach Police personnel, to violate U.S. Federal immigration laws,” the complaint read.

The lawsuit attributes the rise in violent crime and the increased presence of illegal alien gang members in the United States to sanctuary policies, arguing that SB 54 “is a clear and present danger to the health, safety, and welfare” of residents. It noted that crime has been rising in California since 2018, the same year the sanctuary law went into effect.

SB 54 prohibits local law enforcement agencies from transferring illegal aliens to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. It also bans them from notifying ICE about inmate release dates.

Such policies force federal immigration agents to locate and detain illegal aliens after they have been released back onto the streets. This approach is both costlier and far more dangerous than allowing ICE agents to enter the local jails to transfer inmates to federal custody.

President-elect Donald Trump’s previous administration sued California over its sanctuary law in 2018; however, it was struck down in court.

Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns stated, “We are fighting the Sanctuary State Law because it obstructs our ability to fully enforce the law and keep our community safe.”

“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,” he continued. “Huntington Beach will not sit idly by and allow the obstructionist Sanctuary State Law to put our 200,000 residents at risk of harm from those who seek to commit violent crimes on U.S. soil.”

City attorney Michael Gates called Huntington Beach’s lawsuit “incredibly strong,” claiming that California’s sanctuary law “violates the Supremacy and Naturalization Clauses of the U.S. Constitution, forces our City officials to violate federal immigration laws under 8 U.S. Code, Sections 1324 and 1373, and 18 U.S. Code, Sections 371 and 372.”

“It is unfortunate that we have to fight the State of California in order to achieve sound and effective law enforcement policies. We will continue to fight for the safety of our community relentlessly and with vigor,” Gates added.

A spokesperson for Bonta’s office told the Voice of OC, “The Attorney General is committed to protecting and ensuring the rights of California’s immigrant communities and upholding vital laws like SB 54.”

“Our office successfully fought back against a challenge to SB 54 by the first Trump administration, and we are prepared to vigorously defend SB 54 again,” the spokesperson said.

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