9th Circuit refuses to block California's sanctuary state laws
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A federal appeals court has refused to block two of California’s sanctuary state laws and enjoined only part of a third.
The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously Thursday in an opinion by Circuit Judge Milan Smith, report NPR, the Sacramento Bee and Courthouse News Service.
The Justice Department had alleged violations of the supremacy clause in a March 2018 lawsuit.
The appeals court refused to block two California laws. One of the laws, SB 54, limits cooperation between immigration authorities and state and local law enforcement. The other, AB 450, requires employers to warn workers before federal immigration inspections.
“The district court did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that AB 450’s employee-notice provisions neither burden the federal government nor conflict with federal activities, and that any obstruction caused by SB 54 is consistent with California’s prerogatives under the 10th Amendment and the anti-commandeering rule,” the appeals court said.
The court enjoined a section of a third law, SB 103, that requires the California attorney general to investigate the circumstances of apprehension and transfer of immigrants. The court said that section “discriminates against and impermissibly burdens the federal government.”
