National City, CA Illegal Sanctuary

Gunny

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Dec 27, 2004
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The Republic of Texas
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060924-9999-1m24minute.html

Minutemen rally draws protesters to National City
By Jennifer Vigil
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 24, 2006

NATIONAL CITY – More than 100 police officers and deputies used a median on National City Boulevard yesterday to separate hundreds of people gathered to respond to Mayor Nick Inzunza's push for the city to declare itself a sanctuary for illegal immigrants.

Police were called in from across San Diego County to patrol the rally, which originated as a protest of Inzunza's proposal. It was organized by the San Diego Minutemen, which began as a group of volunteers attempting to stem illegal immigration by patrolling the border.

Those who support the sanctuary idea, or were angered by the presence of the Minutemen, decided to counter with their own event. Both sides converged at National City's civic center.
The rally continued for more than three hours, and it ended with one arrest of a man on the anti-illegal immigration side who is accused of kicking a San Diego sheriff's deputy. His removal angered other protesters, but police defended their decision to detain the man, who was not identified.

“You can't be in a crowd and assault an officer and expect to stay in the crowd,” said National City police Capt. Manuel Rodriguez.

Rodriguez estimated that about 400 people attended the rally, drawn by Inzunza's announcement two weeks ago that he wants National City to be a “sanctuary city,” where no local funds are used to enforce federal immigration laws.

Though the city already practices that policy, the attempt to formally adopt the label has roiled other city officials, whom Inzunza did not consult before making his proposal.

Neither Inzunza nor the city's four other council members attended the rally, which Rodriguez called the largest in recent city history.

Still, Inzunza's presence was felt. Some protesting illegal immigration held signs with his picture. One read, “Send him to Tijuana,” while another tagged him a “racist reconquista.”

The other side answered with signs accusing the Minutemen of being “Today's Koo Koo Klan,” and claiming “No somos immigrantes – es nuestra tierra,” or, translated, “We aren't immigrants – it's our land.”

The crowd stood on both sides of the divide between the city's Police Department and City Hall, displaying their signs, waving American and Mexican flags, and chanting, singing and throwing barbs back and forth.

Minutemen and their supporters lined the east side of the boulevard between east 12th Street and Civic Center Drive, while those who opposed them stayed on the west, for the most part.

Two blockades of officers and deputies, some armed with rifles filled with rubber bullets, tried to bar anyone from crossing. More than a dozen San Diego police officers on horseback waited on the north side of the intersection but were never called in.

The charge of racism by some who opposed the Minutemen riled Philip Walker, a Marine who has served three tours in Iraq. Walker, 27, who is black, is stationed at Camp Pendleton. He said he supports those who come to the United States by using the proper channels.

“That's the problem, they turn it into a hate thing,” Walker said. “We do love our neighbor that comes here legally, that goes through the process.”

Student Damaly Gonzalez, 19, said anti-illegal immigration demonstrators failed to realize they can be patriotic and support Latinos, many of whom, she said, are serving in the war or were among the law enforcement officials watching over the crowd.

Gonzalez, who said her family came from Mexico two generations ago, attended the rally with her mother, Alma Santos, six brothers and several nieces and nephews. The two sides could find some common ground, she said, but not if they show as much antagonism as they did yesterday.

“It's not being angry,” Gonzalez said. “It's being willing to listen.”

Seems that regardless Federal law on immigration, the mayor of National City, CA has decided he can make his own.
 
Granny says, "Dat's right - cut dey's federal money off...
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WH: No Word Yet on When Sanctuary Cities Will Have Federal Funding Cut
February 1, 2017 – White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said there’s no word yet on when the Trump administration will publish a list of municipalities that are considered sanctuary cities or when such cities should expect to see their federal funding cut.
“As we continue to implement this executive order and fulfill the pledge that he made, we’ll have further updates on how we intend—how that list will come out and when it will come out,” Spicer said.

Spicer was responding to the first-ever Skype seat question, a local reporter from Rhode Island. “Just this week, the mayor of Providence, R.I. began calling our capital city a sanctuary city. As we know, President Trump’s executive order says the White House will begin publicizing a weekly list of these municipalities and pledges to withdraw federal grant money from them,” the reporter said, asking “how soon we can expect to see this list, and how soon should cities like Providence expect to see their federal funding cut.” “I think the president’s goal in ending sanctuary cities is pretty clear. We want to as we mentioned with these other actions keep America safe,” Spicer said.

“The goal is to make sure on two fronts: one, we are doing everything we can to protect American citizens, institutions, and ending sanctuary cities is one of the ways we can continue to do that. Furthermore, the president’s been very clear through his executive order that federal funds paid for by hard-working taxpayers should not be used to help fund sanctuary cities,” he said. “As we continue to implement this executive order and fulfill the pledge that he made, we’ll have further updates on how we intend—how that list will come out and when it will come out, so I look forward to following up on that as well,” Spicer added.

WH: No Word Yet on When Sanctuary Cities Will Have Federal Funding Cut

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'Sanctuary cities' bill advances in Texas, despite outcry
February 3, 2017 — A Texas Senate panel shrugged off 16 hours of sometimes tearful pleas and defiant opposition to approve a "sanctuary cities" proposal that would withhold grant funding from local jurisdictions that don't hand over immigrants already in custody for possible deportation. A 7-2 vote around 12:45 a.m. Friday from the chamber's powerful State Affairs Committee sends the bill to the full Senate, where a vote could come as early as next week.
Hundreds of Texans traveled from all over the state to testify on the bill and proceedings were repeatedly disrupted by protesters. Supporters say the measure will impose the rule of law, but civic groups, immigration lawyers, church leaders and Hispanic activists oppose it, fearing it will lead to racial profiling and promote mistrust of law enforcement among minority communities. The committee voted along party lines and the hotly contested bill should clear the Senate too, since Republicans control 20 of its 31 seats. Similar measures have been backed by top Texas Republicans in previous years but never became law. A bill reaching the Senate floor so early in the state's legislative session — which began Jan. 10 and runs through the end of May — bodes well for its chances this time.

The Texas Democratic Party accused Republicans of using the late hour to rush legislation that much of the state doesn't want. The committee had scheduled a second meeting to discuss the bill after 8:30 a.m. on Friday, but canceled that after succeeding in voting overnight. "In the dead of the night, while the very families that will be targeted by this discriminatory legislation were asleep, Republicans voted to launch Trump's deportation force agenda," Manny Garcia, the party's executive director, said in a statement Friday.

The term "sanctuary cities" has no legal definition, but Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has promoted the legislation as a move to crackdown on criminal suspects who are in the country illegally. The issue has become contentious in many legislatures around the country, especially with President Donald Trump promising to wall off the U.S.-Mexico border and impose strict federal immigration policies. As proposed, Texas' bill applies to local police forces and law enforcement at college campuses, and seeks to strip authorities of state-controlled grant funding if they don't comply — though some of its key provisions may change as it clears the Senate and makes its way through Texas' Republican-controlled state House.

MORE 'Sanctuary cities' bill advances in Texas, despite outcry

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Texas legislators seek funding ban for 'sanctuary cities'
February 3, 2017 — Texas Republicans eager to reinforce President Donald Trump's call for a crackdown on illegal immigration pushed to deny state money for local jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate, an issue Gov. Greg Abbott has declared to be an "emergency" facing the state.
The Republican-controlled state Senate on Thursday held its first hearing on a bill targeting so-called "sanctuary cities," a meeting that was disrupted several times by demonstrators singing songs or directing jeers at Abbott. After more than 16 hours of testimony, the Senate State Affairs Committee approved the bill on a 7-2 party-line vote early Friday, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The move sends the measure to the full Senate next week. The GOP governor, who didn't attend the hearing, has also called for the power to remove from office any local elected officeholder who resists the federal government on immigration issues.

The term "sanctuary cities" has no legal definition. The bill by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, would punish local governments if police don't comply with requests from federal immigration enforcement officers to hand over immigrants already in custody for possible deportation. "You don't get to decide which laws you like, which laws you will honor," A.J. Louderback, sheriff of Jackson County and president of the Sheriff's Association of Texas told the panel Thursday. "You don't get extra constitutional powers."

Individual sheriffs and police chiefs — particularly those in heavily Democratic areas of the state — have long opposed enforcing federal immigration law. Abbott has already ordered $1.5 million withheld from the Austin sheriff who has said the jails in the state's capital city would no longer honor most federal immigration detainers. That money supports projects such as family violence education and a special court for veterans, and Abbott has warned there could be more money cut.

Sheriff Sally Hernandez, an elected Democrat in Texas' most liberal city — the home of the University of Texas — has said her jails will only honor immigration holds on murder, aggravated sexual assault and human trafficking cases, a policy Abbott has called a threat to public safety. Hernandez's predecessor had allowed federal officials to use the jail to locate and detain immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally for possible deportation. Perry said local authorities must enforce the law. "This is not a deportation bill, this is a rule of law bill," Perry said. "We have almost a culture of contempt for federal immigration law."

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