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Some of the most powerful people in San Diego County have not been shy about their distaste for California性视界传媒檚 chief 性视界传媒渟anctuary性视界传媒� law and are challenging it every way they can, using fear-mongering rhetoric that has little basis in reality.

In one of the area性视界传媒檚 largest cities, the El Cajon City Council recently passed a controversial resolution in an attempt to sanitize its mayor性视界传媒檚 contempt for sanctuary policies that protect migrants from overzealous enforcement by couching it as a public safety measure. The resolution barely passed with a 3-2 vote on its third trip to the council in February.

El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells told inewsource in December he would be willing to violate the California Values Act, the 2017 law which prohibits state and local resources from being used to enforce federal immigration laws, with some exceptions. Law enforcement can still collaborate with federal immigration agencies through joint task forces and when targeting a person who has committed certain serious crimes.

Eva Pacheco, a 34-year resident of El Cajon and member of the grassroots group Latinos En Acci贸n, which has brought out dozens of community members to city meetings, believes the rationale for this measure is to support President Trump性视界传媒檚 mass deportation plans and endanger El Cajon residents, she told me in Spanish.

After the resolution passed, Pacheco said that day many people preferred to stay home. 性视界传媒淧eople we know who are undocumented stopped going to work, and they expressed a lot of fear when seeing El Cajon police officers.性视界传媒�

Wells, the main proponent of the resolution, used a public safety narrative to mislead the public about the state sanctuary law, suggesting that it constrains police officers from doing their jobs. He told right-wing media outlet One American News that the law does not allow any cooperation with the federal government regarding immigration, which is false. He has also vowed on social media to 性视界传媒渇ight the State of California tooth and nail.性视界传媒�

Other statements Wells has made about immigrants suggest that he subscribes to the white supremacist 性视界传媒済reat replacement theory,性视界传媒� which asserts that Democrats are purposefully bringing immigrants of color to the U.S. to replace white populations in white-majority voting counties. The El Paso shooter who murdered 23 people in a Walmart in 2019 espoused the same ideology.

An interview posted in December with a nonprofit explicitly promoting the theory revealed the depth of Wells性视界传媒� belief in it.

性视界传媒淚 think it性视界传媒檚 to take over the country from a power base,性视界传媒� he said. 性视界传媒淵ou send these people to the big blue cities like Chicago and New York knowing that those people are going to vote Democrat and then they get reapportioned in the congressional roles, so they get extra congressional seats.性视界传媒�

Tom Homen, the Trump administration性视界传媒檚 border czar, has also endorsed the once-fringe replacement theory 性视界传媒� as have many more aspiring and actively serving public officials.

Wells and El Cajon City Councilmember Steve Goble met with Homen in December 2024, and Wells apparently met with him again in January. In an email statement, Goble denied that his conversation with Homen included any prior agreement about using the El Cajon resolution as a way to challenge California性视界传媒檚 sanctuary law in court. Yet there性视界传媒檚 concern among immigrant rights advocates that may be the strategy.

Wells did not reply to multiple requests for comment.

El Cajon officials, again on a 3-2 vote, voted in March to send a support letter to U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans of Colorado, who has introduced a bill in Congress that would amend a federal law to enable challenges to state laws like California性视界传媒檚 Values Act.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has been taking notice. His office responded to El Cajon性视界传媒檚 letter about its legal obligations under the state sanctuary law. Along with a robust list of resources, state officials reminded El Cajon that 性视界传媒淐alifornia law enforcement agencies are focused on criminal enforcement, rather than immigration enforcement.性视界传媒�

A 2020 UC Irvine study demonstrated that sanctuary policies do not increase violent or property crime rates. A Utah State University study from the same year even suggests sanctuary policies could decrease property crimes. Los Angeles, for example, has also long understood that public cooperation is vital for police work and barred officers from asking about citizenship status decades ago to ensure that trust remains.

Still, El Cajon is far from an outlier. Some California legislators have used a similar public safety rationale to push for harsher immigration enforcement legislation. State Sen. Brian Jones, the Senate minority leader, introduced a bill to 性视界传媒渙verhaul性视界传媒� the law. At a press conference announcing the proposal 性视界传媒� with Wells flanking him 性视界传媒� Jones said 性视界传媒渢he Safety Before Criminal Sanctuary Act is a commonsense measure, a simple reform, to tighten up California性视界传媒檚 sanctuary state policy, in favor of better public safety.性视界传媒�

Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, a Rancho Santa Margarita Republican, has introduced Assembly Bill 324 that would add exceptions to the Values Act by permitting law enforcement officers to detain someone who is 性视界传媒渁lleged to have violated 性视界传媒� specified provisions relating to sex trafficking,性视界传媒� even if they haven性视界传媒檛 been convicted. In an interview with Fox News, Sanchez described how her bill fit with Trump性视界传媒檚 plans to deport millions of people by appealing to the same public safety argument.

性视界传媒淲e want safe communities; we want to be able to uphold the rule of law,性视界传媒� she said.