As entire Los Angeles neighborhoods burn, members of the nearby Long Beach City Council have voted to double down on sanctuary city policies and vowed to resist President-elect Donald Trump's mass deportation plans.
Long Beach joins a growing list of Democratic-controlled cities and states vowing to resist the Trump administration's plan to crack down on illegal immigration. Among other provisions, the measure allocates $200,000 in additional city funds to provide free legal representation to immigrants facing deportation.
local outlet long beach post According to reports, the council voted Tuesday to further strengthen the Long Beach Values Act, which was originally passed in 2017 during the first Trump administration.
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A U.S. Border Patrol agent (R) speaks to migrants before removing them from a makeshift camp between the U.S.-Mexico border wall in San Diego, California, May 13, 2023. (Tama Mario/Getty Images)
“Today we find ourselves once again preparing an administration that outwardly challenges some of our values and beliefs,” Democratic Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said before the vote. Ta.
“The next few years will be difficult, but I am confident that if we continue to work together and support each other, we will get through this,” Richardson said. “I believe that no matter who is in power in Washington, we have a responsibility to hold fast to our principles so that no matter how we pray, who we love, no matter where we were born, , all residents will feel safe, seen and protected.” ”
The $200,000 in additional funding is in addition to the existing $1.1 million available to migrants through the Long Beach Justice Fund for legal representation against deportation.
The measure also prohibits the city's third-party contractors from sharing city data with federal immigration authorities and others, including police oversight, city attorneys, city prosecutors, and city auditors. It calls on city officials to formally commit to complying with the Long Beach Values Act.
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Migrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Lukeville, Arizona, Dec. 7, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)
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Local immigrant rights activist group Olare celebrated the bill's passage, calling it “an important step towards true sanctuary status that will measurably improve the lives of local residents.”
Although Richardson expressed confidence in resisting President Trump's policies, the Long Beach Post reported in a Dec. 31 memo from Deputy City Manager Meredith Reynolds to city officials. The city of Long Beach is warning immigration authorities that it could lose millions of dollars in federal funding if it doesn't cooperate.
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President Trump's incoming border czar, Tom Homan, told Fox News in November that local officials who obstructed ICE and federal authorities from enforcing the law would face consequences.
“It's a felony to harbor and hide illegal aliens from ICE, so don't cross that line,” Homan said.
