According to The Orange County Register, the Huntington Beach City Council Monday night voted 6-1 in favor of suing California over its “sanctuary state” law.
The lawsuit would accuse the state of “constitutional overreach,” as its sanctuary policy inhibits cooperation between local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities.
“While Los Alamitos voted in March to exempt itself from the law, Huntington Beach could become the first city in California to sue the state over the issue, Mayor Mike Posey said,” reports the local newspaper. “The United States Department of Justice is suing California as well.”
Councilman Erik Peterson, who along with Mayor Posey put the item on the city council's agenda, told the OCR that the issue is not immigration but overreach by state legislators.
“We fight the state whenever we can when they overreach,” he said.
Peterson summed up the council’s opinion as follows:
We’re tired of Sacramento telling us what to do.
Only one council member voted against the lawsuit, saying she’s “very concerned about the message this sends” because most of the resident and out-of-town speakers at Monday night's town hall on the potential litigation did not reference “the local control issue” but immigration concerns instead.
Other cities could join in on the lawsuit. The Huntington Beach City Council has also directed the city’s attorney “to work with the county or other municipalities that wish to join our efforts.”