The U.S. Department of Justice has weighed in on a legal battle over California’s 2017 “sanctuary” law, backing a federal lawsuit filed by the City of Huntington Beach and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. The DOJ argues that the law unlawfully restricts local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and violates the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
In a 36-page statement of interest submitted last week, the Justice Department under the Trump administration urged a federal court to side with the plaintiffs in their challenge to the California Values Act (CVA), the legislation that limits how state and local law enforcement can work with federal immigration authorities.
According to the DOJ, the CVA has hindered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations by preventing the safe transfer of individuals in custody, thereby forcing ICE agents to conduct arrests in public settings…