California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-San Diego, is introducing a bill that would roll back key parts of the state’s sanctuary immigration law, SB 54.
Jones announced the legislation at a news conference on the steps of the San Diego County Administration Building on Friday as sheriff’s deputies kept protesters away.
The proposed law, SB 554, is titled “Safety Before Criminal Sanctuary,” and is a direct response to a policy passed by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors last December. The proposed legislation would prevent local jurisdictions from passing sanctuary city measures stronger than current law, and would require law enforcement to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for violent offenders and specific crimes, according to a press release from Jones’ office.
"The radical Democrats on the (San Diego County) Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance describing the county as a super-sanctuary county, to protect the most dangerous illegal immigrants in (the) county from deportation," Jones said from the podium.
Jones said the county policy effectively prohibited law enforcement from handling criminal offenses by undocumented migrants, making it easier for them to return to the county and "continue their crime spree, regardless of how many felony convictions they have."
Opponents of the legislation were also there, chanting “shame on you,” referring to Jones and other Republican elected officials at the press conference.
Pedros Rios, from the American Friends Service Committee spoke to protesters.
“We know that certain politicians would prefer to have children separated from their parents who would prefer a white supremacist agenda, and what we're here to say is that we won't stand for family separation,” he said. “We won't stand for measures that introduce hate into our communities.”
It’s unclear if the bill will make it out of committee since Democrats hold the majority in the state Senate.
