California Liberals Wanting to Shield Illegal Immigrant Felons From Deportation Hesitate — For Now

California liberals are horrified that illegal immigrants who commit violent felonies are not provided with free legal defense against their deportation. A coalition of progressive groups in California has argued that not providing such a service “unduly re-punishes [illegal immigrants] for convictions for which they have already served their time.”

Democratic Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer introduced legislation in February that would change existing California law so as to pay for illegal immigrant felons to make a legal case against their removal from the country. He received the support of a number of immigration-focused organizations for his bill. For instance, Masih Fouladi, executive director of the California Immigrant Policy Center, lauded Jones-Sawyer’s bill for seeking to make sure “immigrant families have access to the legal services and resources they need to thrive with safety and stability — regardless of an individual’s criminal history.”

California already pays for illegal immigrants to get free lawyers by providing grants to nonprofit legal defense organizations. Reggie Jones-Sawyer’s bill would “expand the scope of services” to include “removal defense” and abolish the “prohibition on the use of funds” for those illegal immigrants who have been convicted of a “violent or serious felony.”

But after the bill was mocked online last week — “When is enough enough?” questioned Elon Musk on X — Jones-Sawyer pulled his bill from a committee agenda on Tuesday. He claimed he did so because his mother was having surgery. It seems more likely, however, that Jones-Sawyer put the proposal on pause due to how fraught such a bill is in today’s political climate. Many liberals are moving toward the center on the issue of immigration given the record-breaking number of illegals who have arrived in the country in recent years. In an interview with Politico, Jones-Sawyer appeared to admit that he pulled the bill from the committee agenda due to its controversy, as he explained that he’s not sure whether he has enough votes to get it passed. “Let me count my votes and see what I have,” he said. “I don’t waste people’s time.”

There remains a major possibility that Jones-Sawyer will redouble his efforts to pass his bill. He told Politico that he is searching for a “sympathetic face” to help him promote the legislation. There are certainly many sympathetic lawmakers in California who would support his effort, given that the California Legislature approved funding for free health care for all illegal immigrants just last year.

If the bill makes it to Gavin Newsom’s desk, the California governor’s decision will be fraught. Some of Newsom’s past history with the issue suggests that he would veto it. Back in 2008, for instance, Newsom changed San Francisco’s policy on immigration so that the city would report juvenile aliens accused of felonies to federal authorities. Previously, the city had shielded such illegal immigrants from the feds — even during Newsom’s own years in office, when the city paid to fly illegal immigrant minors convicted of felonies back to their countries of origin rather than report them. Newsom explained at the time that he had been unaware of those flights and said that the city would be “moving in a different direction.” A decade later, however, Newsom expressed regret for that decision.

Newsom has now taken an unabashedly progressive position on immigration. Upon the start of his first term as governor, one of his first moves was to pull California National Guard troops from the border under the justification that President Donald Trump’s declared emergency on the southern border was a “manufactured crisis.” In announcing his decision to pull the troops, Newsom said: “The Border ‘emergency’ is a manufactured crisis. And California will not be part of this political theater.… This is our answer to the White House: No more division, xenophobia or nativism.” In an interview on The View in which the governor discussed his decision to pull the troops, Newsom told the hosts, “I pulled the National Guard because I wanted to push back against Trump” and “We’re a universal state.” This second justification seemed to imply that Newsom believes all people who immigrate illegally to California are just as much a part of the state as are American citizens. In addition, Newsom approved that extension of free health care for all illegal immigrants last year.

It will be fascinating to see whether California Democrats decide to pass this proposed bill and, in the case that is passed, whether Newsom signs it. It would be quite astounding if the bill passes given that Democrats across the country, including President Joe Biden, are under fire on the issue of immigration during an election year and that California is already facing an almost insurmountable budget shortfall.

It may not be a politically expedient time to deploy significant monetary resources toward the goal of keeping violent illegal immigrant felons in California.

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