Miracles Abound: California City in Liberal Bastion Rejects Sanctuary State

While I attended a speaking engagement in Northern California—really Northern, as in Siskiyou County, the heart of the original resistance against Sacramento’s lawlessness—fellow Southern California patriots were continuing their fight against the SB 54, aka the infamous Sanctuary State law.

Jurisdictions throughout California have gone on record opposing the law, filing lawsuits or amicus curiae briefs with the Department of Justice, or outright overriding the law through resolutions and ordinances. Sadly, my home city of Torrance and the entire County of Los Angeles County have remained stalwart against the movement. The city of San Dimas (home of Bill and Ted—righteous!) discussed the issue, but the council majority chickened out and refused to do anything. The originator of the motion, Councilman Ryan Vienna, filed his own amicus brief notwithstanding the reticence of his colleagues.

What has held up Los Angeles County elected officials from taking action? LA County is turning into San Francisco South, including the rampant homelessness throughout Downtown Los Angeles. Yet at the same time, a rapid gentrification process is pushing out working and middle-income Angelenos. The rich are getting richer, and everyone else has gotten poorer or fled the state. The Protest Culture is alive and well in the city of Angels, since the heart of the Brown Supremacy, Open Borders, La Raza movement rests in Los Angeles County. Downtown LA has witnessed anti-Trump protests not just in the streets, but in the halls of power, city councils and the County Board of Supervisors.

It wasn’t like this before. At the turn of the 19^th to 20^th centuries, Republicans dominated the entire county, and Democrats didn’t field candidates. In the 1970s, Long Beach, CA enjoyed a roaring red resurgence up to the 2000’s. Conservative firebrand Robert “B-One Bob” Dornan was my Congressman when I was a baby. Is there hope for Los Angeles County? Yes, and it’s shining forth specifically Santa Clarita, CA. While I could not witness the latest victory, the enthusiasm from the audience, and the grudging necessity of the press to report this growing backlash to illegal immigration, was stunning, gratifying, and encouraging.

Santa Clarita is a relatively new municipality, established in 1987, although the region celebrates a rich history from its early Spanish land-grant days to the gold-mining craze which swept the state. Today, Santa Clarita is the fourth most populous city in the county, and it shows why more Californians flee the LA basin. Clean streets, beautiful neighborhoods, safety and prosperity, plus a hot yet still attainable housing market have made Santa Clarita an ideal destination for newlyweds and growing families. One activist who lives there told me that Santa Clarita truly represents what America is—not the rest of the county on the South side of the Antelope Valley.

Honestly, Santa Clarita feels more like the more conservative, well-governed Orange County, yet concerned citizens have wondered what it would take for the northern half of Los Angeles County to break away and form its own county. They signaled their first clear break Wednesday morning, when after six hours of testimony the city council voted unanimously to oppose SB 54, file their resolution with every lawmaker in Sacramento, and join the lawsuit against the state of California. 

Conservatives and the growing Trump contingent in the region prepared for at least two months to press this issue. Councilman, Robert Kellar introduced the motion in March, but no action followed. Citizens in the city and throughout the county repeatedly contacted the council to oppose SB 54. The local paper, as liberal as any other, released a survey to gauge public sentiment. Initially, the poll skewed toward opposition to any action. The local Indivisible group, left-wing activists doing everything in their power to turn Santa Clarita blue and remove Congressman Steve Knight (R-Palmdale).

Activists all over the region—and the country—filled in their own responses, and we won the on-line poll. Next, victorious conservatives from other counties connected with Santa Clarita residents and prepared to attend the Santa Clarita City Council meeting. The agenda item to oppose SB 54 came up on May 8^th. Sanctuary State opponents outnumbered the open borders activists 10-to-1 according to some reports. The frustration and hope were palpable in the room. Many of the citizens who spoke at the meeting are friends of mine, and they shared the same arguments which have swayed city councils and county boards across the state.

The city council’s closing remarks before the vote were the most moving. Councilman Bill Miranda castigated the open border partisans who had threatened his elected office, since this year is an election year. “This is not about getting elected. This about doing what is right.” He supported the motion, despite the opposition’s increasingly desperate efforts to smear his support because of his Latino ethnic background.

Councilman Cameron Smythe, who had served in the state assembly before, slammed the state legislature for their egregious overreach. He countered the tired arguments of the communist-sympathizing Left. “Sure, there’s no property crime in Cuba—because there’s nothing to steal. No one’s homeless, because the government tells you where to live.” The island dystopia stations towers along the coastline. They aren’t lifeguard towers, but rather military outposts designed to prevent Cubans from fleeing! That’s communism, and the final goal of the open borders agenda.

Mayor Laurene Weste and Councilman Kellar reminded the audience that illegals have murdered sheriff’s deputies in the region, including Santa Clarita native David March.  The council affirmed their love of country and constitution, then recognized the frustration of the audience with illegal immigration, rising crime, and California politicians’ generous embrace of lawlessness. With that, the Santa Clarita city council made history and voted to opt out of SB 54.

The rest of the country may say that California is a lost cause, but we the people of this Golden State have found a cause to rally around to make our state great again, and the movement is spreading, even into the most liberal enclaves in the state.