Long Beach immigrant rights advocates Wednesday applauded a court ruling that stopped the Trump Administration from withholding federal funding from California municipalities that provide protections to those at risk of deportation.
In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. 9th Circuit of Appeals upheld a ruling in favor of two counties that “sued over the administration’s threats to withhold money to jurisdictions” with laws limiting local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, the LA Times reported.
Trump’s February threat to withhold money was in response to cities and states passing legislation that forbade local law enforcement from aiding federal agents in policing immigration. California effectively made itself a“sanctuary state” with Senate Bill 54, which applied those limits statewide.
Amid Threats of Federal Defunding, Long Beach Backs “Sanctuary State” Legislation
Long Beach could have been at risk of losing over $200 million in annual federal funding if the court ruled in the administration’s favor. In February 2017 the city passed legislation backing SB 54 and Senate Bill 31 (which prohibits the establishment of ethnic or religious registries) that together make up the California Values Act. In March of this year, the city council passed its own Long Beach Values Act.
Councilman Roberto Uranga, who represents West Long Beach, said the city will continue to take care of its residents, regardless of their immigration status.
“This only validates what I have been saying all along and that is that we need to protect our most vulnerable and we need to keep families together,” Uranga said of the ruling. “Clearly, the Trump Administration is wrong when it comes to its handling of immigration and immigrants, and it is wrong when addressing sanctuary cities.”
The Sanctuary Long Beach campaign—which is composed of a coalition of community groups advocating for protections for immigrants locally—called the ruling validation to their demands of protecting the city’s most vulnerable and the need to keep families together.
“Many elected officials expressed concerns over losing federal funding if they went beyond the California Values Act, but we know that the law was passed as a floor and not a ceiling, meaning cities must finish what Sacramento started,” the campaign said in a statement.