Trump, DOJ 'going to war' against California, says governor, over sanctuary laws

Assemblyman David Chiu addresses protestors in Sacramento.

NO ONE should be surprised at the latest salvo from Attorney General Jeff Sessions against the State of California. The tension between the state and the Donald Trump administration has been simmering for a long time.

California and the Trump administration have long been on a collision course since Trump announced his candidacy for president by describing Mexican immigrants as drug dealers and criminals, mocking Asian political and business leaders with a sterotypical accent and attacking Hollywood entertainment celebrities and liberal San Francisco.

"California, we have a problem," said Sessions in front an audience of law enforcement officials. The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit, he told the California Peace Officers Association, to undo the California Values Act, three so-called sanctuary laws that the state's legislature passed last year in response to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement measures.

The lawsuit argues that California lacks the authority to impede cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts. It reads:

This lawsuit challenges three California statutes that reflect a deliberate effort by California to obstruct the United States’ enforcement of federal immigration law, to regulate private entities that seek to cooperate with federal authorities consistent with their obligations under federal law, and to impede consultation and communication between federal and state law enforcement officials.

Only a quarter of the audience gave him a standing ovation after his speech.

“This is basically going to war against the state of California,” said Gov. Jerry Brown. “This is pure red meat for the base … The Trump administration is full of liars.”

U,S. Senator Kamala Harris, whose parents are immigrants, called the DOJ's suit hypocritical.

“It’s hypocrisy at its height. Again, I think there’s a distraction in that they’re trying to suggest that this is about the constitution when in fact, what they’re doing is playing politics,” she said. “They’re playing politics and they’re playing politics with California.”

“Trump and Sessions think they can bully California -- but it won't work,” Harris said in a tweet.

Gubernatorial candidate State Treasurer John Chiang said, “California refuses to be a cog in Donald Trump’s deportation machine, and we will not tolerate these attacks on our communities,” he said. “This isn’t just a stand against the administration. This is a statement of values.”

Several state legislators addressed the demonstrators outside the Capitol protesting Sessions' presence and the administration's immigration policies.

"Attorney General Sessions' publicity stunt to sue California will not deter leaders in our state from standing up for our immigrant communities.  California will continue to protect our families and defend our values," said Assemblymember Davie Chiu, D-SF.

"As a former prosecutor, I know sanctuary policies make us safer.  When immigrants feel comfortable reporting crimes to police and testifying as witnesses in court, our communities are safer."

Assemblyman Rob Bonta, the first Filipino/American legislator in California tweeted:

Congressman Ted Lieu of southern California added:

Asian Americans Advancing Justice - California (Advancing Justice - CA) issues the following statement in response:

“Our large and diverse immigrant communities are essential to the fabric of our great state. California is home to 2.6 million undocumented immigrants, 417,000 of whom are Asian American. Studies have shown that jurisdictions with Sanctuary policies are safer and more economically prosperous than non-sanctuary jurisdictions. Immigrants help California thrive.

The Trump administration has been obsessive in their attack and scapegoating of immigrants," says the AAAJ statement, "fueled by hate, xenophobia, and racism. But the Constitution is clear: the federal government cannot commandeer California’s resources to carry out deportations.
“It is very clear that Donald Trump has California in the crosshairs,” said state Sen. Kevin de León (D), the state Senate president pro tem.

This is partly because Trump's animosity towards California goes way beyond immigration. The state represents to Trump supporters: environmental regulations and gun control, it's at the center of the LGBTQ movement and tech innovation, the state has the largest immigrant population in the country and to top it off, somehow California is the envy of the rest of the country with the country that is the seventh largest economy in the world.

Perhaps most galling to Trump, California has been the center of the political resistance to Trump since he was a candidate. Trump received just 31.6 percent of the vote in California in 2016, lower than any Republican presidential nominee in history. The state has sued and  the GOP's attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

It should be very interesting when Trump visits California next week, his first visit since he was elected. He reportedly will avoid the San Francisco Bay Area, a hotbed of anti-Trump sentiment, and spend most of his time in Southern California.

At the Sacramento rally, Assemblymember Chiu asked, “Are we ready to resist, to defend our state?”  

“Mr. Trump, Mr. Sessions, we are America, we are California, and we will be here long after you are gone,” said Chiu, himself the child of immigrants and the author of one of the bills that Sessions is suing California over.

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California declares itself a sanctuary state

A CONTINENT separates California and Donald Trump in more ways than one.
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill, SB 54, that would make California a sanctuary state, the latest salvo in the ongoing war between the Golden State and the White House.

“These are uncertain times for undocumented Californians and their families, and this bill strikes a balance that will protect public safety, while bringing a measure of comfort to those families who are now living in fear every day,” Brown said in a statement.

The signing of the bill by Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, enacts on a state-wide level protections for undocumented immigrants that already exist in several California cities, including San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland.

The law will not affect major aspects of U.S. immigration enforcement, Brown noted in his statement. It does not prohibit sheriffs from allowing federal immigration authorities into their jails and does not freeze deportation proceedings for prison inmates, Brown said.

"The signing of SB 54 into law because it will significantly improve protections for immigrants in California," stated Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus Policy Director Angela Chan. 

"This victory is the result of community organizing and immigrants bravely sharing their stories about being turned over to ICE at the hands of local law enforcement. We look forward to working to pass more protections for immigrants throughout California in the years to come," Chan said.

The California Values Act (SB 54) will

• Prohibit local law enforcement from automatically transferring people to federal immigration authorities, with some exceptions.
• Protect against unconstitutional detentions by barring local law enforcement from holding someone in custody, beyond their release date, for immigration agents.
• Ensure that California schools, hospitals, libraries, and courthouses remain safe and accessible spaces for everyone in California.

The bill will go into effect on January 1, 2018.

California leads the nation 2.3 million undocumented immigrants. About a third of that are undocumented Asian immigrants, according to Public Policy Institute of California.

Since January 2016, the PPIC Statewide Survey has asked Californians four times whether “there should be a way for [undocumented immigrants] to stay in the country legally, if certain requirements are met.” Each time, 82% or more have supported this idea. 

In January 2017, 65% of adults favored the idea of “California state and local governments making their own policies and taking actions, separate from the federal government, to protect the legal rights of undocumented immigrants in California.”

California has sued the Trump administration for trying to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Janet Napolitno, University of California president, and six DACA participants have also filed suits against the federal government

A lawsuit by San Francisco and Santa Clara has stymied Attorney General Jeff Sessions's effort to withhold federal funding from entities that have declared their sanctuary status.

“We are at a unique moment in our history when California needs to stand up for its values of inclusion and support for our most vulnerable populations,” stated Advancing Justice-CA Policy Manager Andrew Medina. “Advancing Justice-CA.
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California gets five new AAPI judges

CALIFORNIA'S GOV. JERRY BROWN continues to diversify the state's judiciary with the appointment last Thursday (May 25) of five Asian/Americans to preside as judges in Superior Courts.


“It’s critical that our judiciary reflects our communities," said Assemblymember Rob Bonta, chair of the API Legislative Caucus. "As the fastest growing population in California, Asian Pacific Islanders have not been represented in appropriate numbers on the bench. This is a step in the right direction.”

The new judges are:

Benjamin T. Reyes

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  Benjamin T. Reyes' appointment to the Contra Costa County Superior Court makes him the county's first Filipino/American on the bench. He is a principal at Meyers, Nave, Rhack, Silver and Wilson PLC and city attorney for the cities of Union City and Pinole, both in the San Francisco Bay Area. Reyes, 51, earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley. resident of Alameda is a lactive in the Bay Area legal community. He is a longtime supporter, former Vice-President and current advisory board member of the Filipino Bar Association of Northern California.

Somnath Chattterjee

• Somnath "Raj" Chatterjee was appointed to the Alameda County Superior Court. Chatterjee, 47, of Oakland, has been a partner at Antolin Agarwal and Chatterjee LLP since earlier in 2017. He was a partner at Morrison and Foerster LLP from 2006 to 2017, where he was an associate from 1997 to 1999 and from 2000 to 2005. The Indian/American attorney served as a deputy public defender at the Contra Costa County Public Defender’s Office from 1999 to 2000. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara. 

Neetu Badham-

• Neetu Badhan-Smith has been appointed to Los Angeles Superior Court. Badhan-Smith has served as a deputy public defender at the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office since 2004. The 40-year-old Los Angeles resident was formerly an attorney at the Southern California Housing Rights Center. The Indian/American lawyer earned a Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Rubiya Nur

• Rubiya Nur, 52, will be joining Badhan-Smith on the bench of the Los Angeles Superior Court. She was born in Bangladesh. She has been a solo practitioner since 2008. Nur formerly served as a deputy public defender at the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office from 2001 to 2008. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern Law School and a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, San Bernardino.

Winston S. Keh

• Winston S. Keh will serve in the San Bernardino County Superior Court. Keh, 54, of Stevenson Ranch, has served as a commissioner at the San Bernardino County Superior Court since 2015. The Filipino/American was senior litigation attorney at Tharpe and Howell LLP in 2015, senior counsel at Diederich and Associates from 2012 to 2015 and an associate at R. Rex Parris Law Firm in 2012. Keh is a member of the Los Angeles-based Philippine American Bar Association, earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of La Verne College of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of West Los Angeles. 

“While California has thousands of Asian/Pacific Islander attorneys, our state's judges have not reflected our diverse communities," said Assemblymember David Chiu, who served as former president of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area, and spearheaded judicial appointments for the API Legislative Caucus.

RELATED: Judge's son appointed to the bench

According to the annual report released by the Judicial Council released prior to these latest appointments, over two-thirds of the state's judges are white as of Dec. 31, 2016. The report also showed slight increases of judges of color.

• Asian (6.5 percent in 2016 compared to 4.4 percent in 2006);
• Black or African American (6.9 percent in 2016 compared to 4.4 percent in 2006);
• Hispanic or Latino (10 percent in 2016 compared to 6.3 percent in 2006);
• Pacific Islander (0.2 percent in 2016 compared to 0.1 percent in 2006);
• White (68.8 percent in 2016 compared to 70.1 percent in 2006);

The report shows that despite the increases, the courts have a ways to go to be fully representative of California's diversitiy. For example, Asians mamke up 10 to 11 percent of the state's population but only 6.5 percent of the judges.

“In order for Californians to have confidence in the court system, our judiciary should reflect the rich diversity of our state,” said Assemblymember Evan Low, chair of the subcommittee on appointments of the API Legislative Caucus.

“A diverse judiciary ensures a wider range of perspectives and allows for more decision-making power among underrepresented groups,” he said.

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