SACRAMENTO (KMJ) — The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the State of California alleging that three pieces of legislation interfere with federal law enforcement efforts.
The paperwork was submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California on Tuesday.
According to the DOJ, Senate Bill 54 restricts state and local law enforcement from working with federal immigration authorities, Assembly Bill 103 allows California officials to regulate immigration detention facilities, and Assembly Bill 450 stops employers from voluntarily cooperating with federal officials.
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“Our express goal is to reduce the violent crime rate,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions told members of the California Peace Officers’ Association in Sacramento Wednesday morning.
Sessions stated that federal law is the law of the land, and the current situation is an embarrassment to the State of California.
“It cannot be the policy of a great nation to up and reward those who unlawfully enter its country with legal status, social security, welfare, food stamps, work permits, and so forth.
“How can this be a sound policy?”
Sessions described a refusal to apprehend and deport those in the country illegally as rejecting federal law.
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In response, Governor Jerry Brown said now is the time to build bridges, not walls, and the Department of Justice’s move only serves to split the population.
“It’s not about the truth, it’s not about protecting our state, it’s about dividing America.”
Standing next to California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Brown stated that officials will continue their work.
“We’re going to carry on. We’re want to protect our citizens from criminals. We’re want to protect people from improper abuse of the law. That’s what it’s about here.”
Brown said blame should be directed towards the federal government.
“Not blame California for its own inability to solve the problem. Whether it’s crime or whether its immigration.”
Hear the reports from KMJ’s Matt Otsot and KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as they aired:
