Santa Clara County and the City of San Francisco have both filed lawsuits against President Donald Trump over his executive order regarding sanctuary cities. The order stated that any cities found to be in violation of immigration law by protecting illegal aliens would not receive federal funds.
Initially, it was thought that California would cut funding to some of its programs in order to to make up for the deficit. Instead, Democrats decided to make the entire state a sanctuary, the first of its kind. If the law passes, it would utilize the 10th amendment of the Constitution that would protect its cities from any immigration mandates.
In a television interview, Trump said he would defund the state of California, if necessary. Despite losing California in the election, Trump insisted many people there had voted for him, and immigration was the reason why. He added that he does not want to defund, but will use it as a weapon if California does not cooperate.
CNBC reported that California’s university system, which is the foundation of the Silicon Valley workforce, receives about $9 billion in research funds each year. Los Angeles and San Francisco get about $500 million annually, although neither city is legally obligated to uphold immigration law. In addition, California is the world’s sixth-largest economy, and it makes a substantial contribution in federal taxes while receiving only 78 cents on the dollar in return.
If California does become a sanctuary state, Trump’s efforts in protecting the border will have backfired and also set a precedent for other cities to take the same action. This may lead to a weakening of central government and put it on the wrong side of immigration law.