If local cops walked into an obvious tax evasion scheme, they wouldn't ignore it and say, "Oh, this is a federal responsibility. We don't want to be IRS investigators." Yet that is exactly how many local departments treat illegal immigration. Screening for immigration status of people who have already committed a crime, seems to be too much for many of these local chiefs. Shocking because in the first year of the City of Costa Mesa's program, they cooperated in the deportation of 360 criminal aliens, with 114 entering proceedings that could lead to their removal.

I'm sure that this bill will go down in flames today in committee, but I think it is important to keep reminding voters that the Democrats are committed to ignoring immigration laws and keeping our borders wide open. Assemblyman John Benoit's bill, AB 2601, has some carrots and some sticks to get cities to stop ignoring immigration status.

The bill would "... reward local governments who cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and train their cops to report felony offenders to the proper authorities." I'm not sure how many local cops the bill would pay for or what kind of short-term fiscal impact their is, but in the long-term, this bill will pay for itself.

The example of a responsible city, Costa Mesa, is not shocker to me, but the fact that San Diego is one of the five localities that have sanctuary city status did surprise me.

Thankfully, no Riverside cities were on the list.

*

From Assemblymember John J. Benoit

The Benoit Bulletin

Vol.4 Issue 6 April 2008

In This Issue...

Sanctuary Cities Bill To Be Heard Wednesday

Throughout many meetings with constituents, calls to my offices, and hearing from folks at public events I've hosted as your representative in the California State Assembly, by far, the most pressing issue on the minds of Riverside County residents has been the topic of illegal immigration.

Recently, the City of San Francisco has unveiled an $85,000 marketing campaign to promote its city's status as a Sanctuary City, advertising taxpayer-provided services to illegal aliens living in San Francisco. I feel it's outrageous that some cities in California are contributing to our illegal immigration problem by intentionally promoting illegal immigration with our tax dollars.

I have introduced Assembly Bill 2601, the Illegal Immigration Sanctuary City Ban, to cut off state funding for cities that actively undermine federal immigration enforcement. All funds withheld from sanctuary cities would go toward local police training for federal immigration enforcement.

A sanctuary city is defined as any municipality that adopts a ''don't ask, don't tell'' policy by not requiring their employers, including law enforcement officers, to report known illegal aliens present in the city, to federal immigration officials.

According to a 2006 report released by the Congressional Research Service, there are five localities in California that have sanctuary status: the cities of Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, and the County of Sonoma.

My bill would instead reward local governments who cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and train their cops to report felony offenders to the proper authorities. As an example, the City of Costa Mesa became the first city of California to provide such training to their jailers. Under Costa Mesa's program, a full-time ICE agent works in the city's jail and checks the immigration status of felony offenders. In the first year of their program, the City of Costa Mesa cooperated in the deportation of 360 criminal aliens, with 114 entering proceedings that could lead to their removal.

The Illegal Immigration Sanctuary City Ban will be heard and considered next Wednesday in the Assembly Local Government Committee.*