Cudahy: Anything but a Sanctuary City

At the last Cudahy City Council meeting, "Cudahy" Chris Garcia announced that the sanctuary city policy was not going away.

Two outstanding things had occurred at the March 28th, 2016 city council meeting in connection with Chris Garcia.

He was on time.

He was dressed professionally, with a suit and tie.

These two first struck me as odd.

What was the occasion? Was he starting to feel the pressure for his bad governance after all this time?

Now, regarding his statement about the sanctuary city policy:

"We're not going to undo the sanctuary city [policy]".

Why not?

"It's here to say. Someone mentioned that they were going to go up to Sacramento and protest. Well, you know what? You might want to protest the city of Sacramento, because Sacramento is also a sanctuary city."

What?!

The lawlessness is pervasive in this state, and other cities are eroding the rule of law, without any consequences! This rude disregard for federal authority must stop!

"The same as the city of San Francisco!"

Chris Garcia defends the "sanctuary" city policy

We are well aware that San Francisco is a sanctuary city. Just ask the parents of Katie Steinle.

"The same as the city of Los Angeles. The same as the city of San Diego. So, this isn't something new."

I had explained to the city council at the last meeting–we are targeting Cudahy because the current members had advertised their city as a sanctuary. The political ploy involved to push this agenda was designed to secure the election of key officials.

Nothing more.

What we have here, then, is a failure to communicate, and more importantly a failure to enforce the rule of law.

A few key residents and experts looked over the sanctuary city policy pushed by the Cudahy City council in 2015. Some key provisions in the measure indicated that the resolution could not override state and federal law.

Some voices have suggested that those key provisions render the document moot, or rather null and void.

Let's explore this concept of "sanctuary city" a little further.

What is a "sanctuary"? A place of refuge or safety.

Would the residents of Cudahy, legal or illegal, claim that there city is a refuge or a place where they feel safe?

Perhaps crime is down.

Do the residents feel safe from their local government?

Francisco Torres has submitted during public comment two times that Chris Garcia is targeting Rocio Pacheco. Other residents informed me that the moment the Cudahy city council enacted the sanctuary city policy, ICE showed up and started deporting people.

One has to wonder if residents feel secure when the city council enacts extortionary fees for parks, recreation, and other activities.

As long as there is no stable government, as long as there is no accountability or transparency in the city, then there is no security.

And thus no sanctuary.