El Cajon city council delays vote on immigration resolution after backlash

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other city leaders in the state have declared sanctuary status ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s second term in office. However, some cities in California have opted not to declare sanctuary status. Instead, they plan on assisting Trump’s administration with his immigration plan.

Sanctuary status refers to a city or jurisdiction implementing policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Trump has promised mass deportations of immigrants living in the country illegally, starting on his first day in office.

El Cajon lies about 17 miles east of San Diego. Bill Wells, the city’s Republican mayor, has stated that El Cajon is not a sanctuary city. Wells explained that in 2017, California passed a state law prohibiting cities from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

“So say we’ve got a Venezuelan gang member that we’ve arrested and we know they’re not legally here, we can’t call ICE and say ‘Hey, come and deport this guy back to Venezuela,’” Wells said on the Real America with Dan Ball podcast.

Mayor Wells has proposed a resolution to “assist federal immigration authorities in their enforcement efforts to the maximum legal extent… for the purpose of removing those posing a threat to public safety from our community.”

However, California law prohibits local governments from assisting federal immigration authorities.

Wells spoke to KFMB News, explaining that the resolution sought clarification on El Cajon’s legal responsibilities regarding immigration.

“We have the federal government saying we could be prosecuted if we don’t cooperate with them. We’ve got the state government saying our police officers could be prosecuted if they do cooperate with the federal government,” Wells said.

Wells’ proposal did face criticism from residents at a city council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

“I’m here to oppose the resolution to assist federal immigration authorities because it will destroy the life of many families that only want to work in peace and give a future to their children,” one resident said.

Another resident expressed concern about the impact on the relationship between police and the community. “My concern is what is going to happen with the relation between the police and the community?” the resident said. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to be hard.”

“It’s uncalled for,” another resident added. “I understand, like, there’s criminals, and you get them. That’s fine, I don’t mind. But, you put the police officers in a bad situation because now they feel compelled to ask for papers from everybody, especially if you look brown like me or whatever. So, I’m very emotional. I’m very upset with you guys, to be honest, and disappointed more than anything else.”

In response to the backlash, the El Cajon City Council postponed the vote on the resolution until they can clarify its wording.

The council will vote on a revised version of the resolution at a later date.