‘California, we have a problem’: Trump administration sues state over ‘sanctuary’ immigration laws

Lawsuit comes shortly after Oakland mayor infuriated administration by warning of federal immigration raids

The Trump administration has sued California over its “sanctuary” law and other measures intended to shield the state from the President’s immigration crackdown.

California and the Trump administration have repeatedly sparred over their divergent approaches to immigration. Those tensions spiked last week after Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf warned residents about upcoming immigration raids, leading a top immigration official to liken her to a gang member.

In announcing the lawsuit, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said: "California, we have a problem". He made clear that President Donald Trump would not allow for "the rejection of law" that would help create "an open border system"

“It cannot be that someone who illegally crosses the border and two days later arrives in Sacramento…is home free, never to be removed”, Mr Sessions told law enforcement representatives at a California Peace Officers’ Association lobbying event in the state capital.

Mr Sessions also directly attacked Ms Schaaf, saying her announcement about the raids “boldly validates illegality”.

“How dare you needlessly endanger the lives of our law enforcement officers to promote a radical open-borders agenda”, he said.

The lawsuit from Department of Justice challenges a set of California immigration laws, enacted since Mr Trump became president, that limit employers and local law enforcement from sharing information and otherwise cooperating federal immigration authorities.

The laws represent a “deliberate effort by the state of California to obstruct the United States’ enforcement of federal immigration law”, a complaint said, arguing that federal authority overrules California's efforts.

California Governor Jerry Brown and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has repeatedly sued the Trump administration, told reporters they believed the state’s laws would survive. Mr Brown said the federal lawsuit was “based on non-truth” and predicted the legal dispute would “last a lot longer than the Trump administration”.

“This is a political stunt. It’s more like Fox News”, Mr Brown said, adding that the lawsuit “is not about the truth. It’s not about protecting our state. It’s about dividing America”.

In an illustration of California's defiant relationship to the Trump administration, Mr Sessions' very presence drew objections from public officials. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said in a statement ahead of Mr Sessions’ speech that “he should do us all a favour and skip his flight”.

Protesters massed outside of the hotel where Mr Sessions spoke. They were joined by a number of elected officials, among them California Senate leader Kevin de León, a champion of the sanctuary law.

Mr Trump and Mr Sessions have long lambasted sanctuary laws, saying they threaten public safety and seeking to punish municipalities that have enacted them. States and cities have already clashed with the Trump administration in court over federal efforts to cut off law enforcement funding to sanctuary cities.

Multiple judges have responded by blocking the administration’s orders. Earlier this week, Judge William Orrick of a San Francisco-based district court denied the administration’s motion to throw out lawsuits brought by San Francisco and by California against the federal government.

As his Attorney General was outlining the effort to bring California to heel, Mr Trump was touting his efforts to bolster border security and curtail legal immigration in a speech to the Latino Coalition Legislative Summit. Democratic objections to priorities have helped stymie a deal to extend protections for young immigrants known as “dreamers”.

“These reforms are supported by the vast majority of Latino voters”, Mr Trump claimed, “Yet the Democrats filibustered our plan”.