California’s southern border, long referred to as ‘ground zero’ in the fight between federal and local officials over immigration policy, is now the focus of renewed debate over how far local leaders can go to protect people from deportation.
After San Diego County strengthened safeguards for undocumented residents earlier this month, an organization led by President-elect Donald Trump’s adviser Stephen Miller issued a letter warning that elected officials and employees of “sanctuary” jurisdictions could be “criminally liable” if they impede federal immigration enforcement.
In the letter dated December 23, America First Legal Foundation stated, “We have identified San Diego County as a sanctuary jurisdiction that is violating federal law.”
The conservative legal nonprofit announced that day that it had identified 249 elected officials in sanctuary jurisdictions who could face “legal consequences” for their immigration policies.
The California Attorney General’s office and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass received similar letters.
The letter also suggests that sanctuary city officials could face civil liability under federal anti-racketeering laws.
With Trump promising to carry out the “largest mass deportation campaign in U.S. history,” San Diego’s board of supervisors enacted a policy on Dec. 12 prohibiting local law enforcement from communicating with immigration authorities about undocumented people in local jails without a court order.
San Diego’s newly enacted ordinance goes beyond California’s current state “sanctuary” law, which only limits cooperation between local law enforcement and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The law prohibits jailers from notifying ICE about non-citizen inmates who are about to be released from local criminal custody unless they have committed one of approximately 800 serious crimes.
According to public records, state prison officials communicate with ICE on a regular basis about people in custody, including US citizens.
San Diego County’s action drew immediate criticism, with Sheriff Kelly Martinez stating that she would not follow the new policy and would continue to allow immigration officials access to jail inmates.
American First Legal Foundation sent a letter to Nora Vargas, the chair of San Diego County’s Board of Supervisors, who resigned on Friday due to security concerns just weeks after being elected to a second term.
“Federal law is clear: aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States are subject to removal, and concealing, harboring, or shielding them is a crime.”
“It is also a crime to prevent federal officials from enforcing immigration law,” states the letter, which was sent three days after the resignation.
Vargas, who was born in Tijuana, has long championed the rights of asylum seekers and immigrants. She was the first Latina and immigrant to serve on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
She was elected to the board in 2020, changing the seat from Republican to Democrat for the first time in decades.
Vargas stated that the new board policy was developed following “rigorous legal review and stands in full compliance with federal, state, and local laws.”
“This nation’s foundation was built on the strength and contributions of immigrants,” she stated on social media. “Now it’s time to turn our focus to honoring the humanity of those who help make this country the beacon of hope it continues to be.”
Spokespeople for Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to questions about whether the administration intends to prosecute local officials in sanctuary cities. Miller has been named President Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security.
California preparing legal battles with Trump administration
In a special session called by Gov. Gavin Newsom last month, state officials requested $25 million from the Legislature for legal battles with the incoming administration over issues such as immigration.
“This is a scare tactic, plain and simple,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office in response to the America First letter.
“While we are unable to comment on the specifics of the letter, we would like to clarify: SB 54 was upheld by the courts during the first Trump administration, and it prohibits the use of state and local resources for federal immigration enforcement, with some limited exceptions.
SB 54, however, does nothing to prevent federal agencies from conducting their own immigration enforcement. California will continue to follow all applicable state and federal laws, and we expect all local law enforcement agencies to do the same.
Democratic state Senate leader Mike McGuire of Healdsburg responded to the letters by calling the incoming administration’s proposed immigration policies “draconian” and damaging to California’s economy.
“The previous Trump administration came at California on a variety of legal fronts and, most of the time, lost,” said McGuire, whose office did not receive the letter. “Mark my word, we’ll be prepared again.”
The state has several major cities with policies that limit cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities.
Proponents argue that such policies reduce immigrants’ fear of deportation when they report crimes to or cooperate with the police.
Los Angeles passed a sanctuary city ordinance in November, accelerating the policy following Trump’s election.
When asked to comment on the America First letter, Zach Seidl, a spokesperson for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, said it was “wrong on public safety and the law.”
“Sanctuary policies violate the law, mock America’s democratic principles, and show a shocking disregard for our Constitution and its citizens.
“The officials in charge of sanctuary jurisdictions have no excuse and must be held accountable,” said James Rogers, senior counsel at America First Legal.
Trump targeted California sanctuary cities before
The state’s sanctuary law, signed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2017, limits local sheriffs’ transfers of detainees to federal immigration custody and prohibits police from questioning people about their immigration status.
Senate Bill 54 makes an exception for state prisons, which routinely transfer ex-inmates who have served their sentences to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings.
Trump advisers, including Miller, have considered applying federal pressure, such as withholding federal funds, to jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
The previous Trump administration attempted to overturn California’s sanctuary law in federal court, but the Supreme Court declined to hear its petition in 2020.
In 2018, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security proposed criminal charges against politicians in cities that have sanctuary policies. It did not press charges.
“So-called ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions that prohibit compliance with federal immigration law and cooperation with officials enforcing it are breaking the law.”
Furthermore, sanctuary jurisdictions are strictly prohibited from requiring their employees to violate federal immigration law, according to the America First letter.
However, Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, believes the letter’s argument that sanctuary policies amount to “harboring” or concealing federal fugitives is flawed.
“Not inquiring about someone’s status does not constitute harboring. “Neither is unwilling to share such information,” Arulanantham wrote in a text message Friday. “I’m not aware of any criminal protections based on such conduct, and the letter fails to cite any.”
To carry out his plan to deport more people than any other president, Trump will require the assistance of local officials.
According to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, a national nonprofit that provides legal training and works on pro-immigrant policies in California and Texas, 70 to 75% of ICE arrests in the United States’ interior are handoffs from another law enforcement agency, such as local jails or state or federal prisons.
According to federal data, California’s state prison system has sent over 5,700 formerly incarcerated immigrants to ICE since 2019.
Earlier this year, San Diego was the epicenter of a surge in unauthorized crossings, which put a strain on local resources. In April, 37,370 people crossed between ports of entry in the San Diego sector, with the vast majority surrendering to Border Patrol to seek asylum.
According to federal data, this made it the number one crossing in the country for a few weeks in 2024. The number of unauthorized crossings decreased dramatically after the Biden administration imposed new asylum restrictions in June.
