Huntington Beach — The Southern California city of Huntington Beach draws millions of visitors to its sandy shores each year. But there is one group that is not welcome: undocumented immigrants.
“My mom was an immigrant,” Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns told CBS News. “My dad’s parents were immigrants. This country was founded on immigrants, but legally.”
Burns is an avid supporter of President Trump, with a bust of the president in his office. He leads a city known for opposing many of California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s policies, and the state’s majority left-leaning voters, especially when it comes to immigration.
“Well, a lot of the impact is immeasurable,” Burns said of how he thinks the city’s residents are impacted or hurt by illegal immigration. “… You don’t know who’s here. We don’t know where they’re coming from, what their past is.”
Back in January, Burns pushed an initiative approved unanimously by the Huntington Beach City Council that declared Huntington Beach a “non-sanctuary” city.
At least 16 cities and counties across the U.S. have declared themselves non-sanctuary jurisdictions in recent years, according to the CBS News research team, while about two dozen states have passed legislation banning sanctuary policies.
Non-sanctuary status gives local police the green light to help federal law enforcement officials in their efforts to capture and detain undocumented immigrants. However, California is a so-called “sanctuary” state that restricts local cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Burns said the city’s non-sanctuary policy has teeth “in the sense that we’re making a statement.”
“Our policemen can’t use ICE translators, or they can’t translate for ICE, they can’t use their computer systems,” Burns said. “I mean, there’s so many different types of law enforcements that could all work together, and when they do, we have the best law enforcement in the world.”
The Trump administration has repeatedly threatened to withhold a variety of federal grants from cities and states classified as “sanctuary jurisdictions” if they don’t cooperate with immigration enforcement. But so far, these attempts have been struck down in the courts.
This week, Portland, Oregon, was the latest sanctuary city to be targeted by the White House, with Mr. Trump ordering the deployment of 200 Oregon National Guard troops to protect an ICE facility and other federal buildings from protesters.
“The type of help that’s being offered isn’t being asked for,” Portland Mayor Keith Wilson told reporters this week. “It’s not necessary. The number of troops that we want or need is zero.”
Back in Huntington Beach, Burns is encouraging other cities to adopt a non-sanctuary approach to immigration.
“Politicians should stay the hell out of law enforcement and let law enforcement do their job,” Burns said.