California asks judge to toss out Trump admin suit over sanctuary laws

California has asked a judge to dismiss the Trump administration’s lawsuit concerning the state’s sanctuary laws that protect immigrants in the country illegally, Bloomberg reported.

According to a court filing from Friday, California is arguing that its targeted laws “are consistent with the federal constitutional and legislative framework governing immigration enforcement,” Bloomberg reported.

“California’s laws work in concert – not conflict – with federal laws and are fully constitutional,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “The 10th Amendment of the Constitution gives the people of California, not the Trump administration, the power to decide how we will provide for the public safety and general welfare of our state.”

“The federal government has no grounds to intrude on California’s constitutional authority to enact laws designed to protect its people,” Becerra added.

{mosads}

Federal officials filed a lawsuit in March saying that the California legislature passed three laws that violated federal immigration law and the Constitution’s supremacy clause that gives federal laws primacy over state laws.

California’s laws are designed to allow local law enforcement and business owners not to cooperate with federal agents on detainer requests. It also created a state inspection program to monitor federal detention centers and bars California police and sheriffs from asking about a detainee’s immigration status.

Becerra said that California’s laws do not undermine federal officials’ ability to enforce immigration laws. 

The attorney general’s office argues that taking down its sanctuary laws would weaken the trust of law enforcement among the immigrant community, reduce workplace productivity and lead to inhumane treatment for people in detention facilities.