Camarillo City Council takes no stance on controversial 'sanctuary state' law

The Camarillo City Council unanimously voted to take no action Wednesday night regarding a controversial state law that largely prohibits local law enforcement agencies from referring undocumented immigrants accused of crimes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

At least two people who left the council chambers called out “cowards,” but the rest of the crowd erupted in applause after five hours of discussion, 95 comments and the council vote.

“I believe that this is a dogfight that we don’t have a dog in, and I believe that it would be best to see what the courts say,” Mayor Charlotte Craven said before voting.

At least five counties and 35 cities have come out against the California Senate Bill 54, also known as the California Values Act. 

The Simi Valley City Council voted in a closed session last month to submit a “friend of the court” letter to a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration, arguing that the law violates the U.S. Constitution.

The law prevents California and local law enforcement agencies from performing immigration enforcement and forbids officers from transferring undocumented immigrants who have been arrested under certain circumstances to federal immigration officers.

The law makes exceptions for undocumented immigrants charged with violent felonies, such as homicide and rape, in which case law enforcement agencies may cooperate with immigration officials. The bill was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Oct. 5 last year and went into effect Jan. 1.

More stories on SB 54 and Ventura County:

• Simi becomes first city in county to oppose California’s state sanctuary laws
• Some California sanctuary laws foes at Ventura County meetings have no local tie
• Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean pens op-ed on SB 54

On Wednesday, Camarillo Councilman Tony Trembley said he did not feel his role as a municipal government official required him to take a public stance on the issue.

“The city of Camarillo does not have its own police department; the city of Camarillo does not have its own jail; the California Values Act, and the current litigation on SB 54 and other related legislation, has no direct effect on the city,” Trembley said.

He said the current legal recourse is a more appropriate response to the bill.

“I don’t get to choose between the state and the federal governments when they fight. My oath is to uphold both constitutions, and I take that seriously,” Trembley said. “This controversy is now in the courts, and that’s properly the place where this dispute is going to get decided.”

Vice Mayor Kevin Kildee added that council action against the law could result in lawsuits against the city, as was the case when the city of Los Alamitos adopted an ordinance exempting itself from SB 54, only to be sued by a community organization a month later.

“I’ve been up here 20 years, and our city has spent tens of thousands of dollars in lawsuits. Fortunately, most of the time we have prevailed here, but I want to make it very clear that we’re using taxpayers’ dollars to defend ourselves,” Kildee said.

Councilman Mike Morgan was the only council member who expressed a desire for the city to adopt a resolution against SB 54. However, when it came time to vote, he sided with the rest of the council. 

Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean also came out against SB 54 during the council meeting. 

“We do not want the fear of immigration status to inhibit the members of our communities from interacting with their police officers,” Dean said in a statement. “However, we do believe that those that commit crimes that result in being booked into our county jail and are in our country illegally should be referred to federal authorities for review of their immigration status.”

Prior to SB 54’s enactment, more than 27,000 inmates were booked into county jail between September 2015 and September 2016, according to Dean. Of that number, 238 were later turned over to immigration officials, less than 1 percent of those arrested, he said.

Since SB 54 took effect, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office has been fully compliant with its regulations, according to Dean.

The issue of SB 54 was first brought to the Camarillo council’s attention at the April 25 meeting, when 16 people spoke against the measure during the public comment period and 13 more submitted comment cards against it.

Morgan requested that the issue be added to the agenda of a future council meeting.

At Wednesday’s meeting, 95 people spoke to the council regarding how they felt about the law. Of those, 59 asked the council to support or take a neutral position on SB 54, while 36 requested that the city take a stance against it.

Barbara Williams, of Camarillo, said the law posed a security risk to the community.

“Doing nothing says you don’t care about our safety. Public safety is suffering due to SB 54,” Williams said. “By not allowing ICE notifications of release of felonious illegal aliens, ICE is now forced to seek out these felons that need to be reported and are coming into our communities.”

Jameson Lingl, another Camarillo resident countered, saying the city stands little to gain by taking a public position on the law. It won’t affect the federal lawsuit or SB 54’s current enforcement.

“In actuality, a vote either way will not make a difference. What it will do is send a message, and I’m afraid that to a lot of people, it’s gonna send a message that in Camarillo, people of color are not welcome,” Lingl said.

In the end, the council decided to defer any judgment on the California Values Act until the federal lawsuit is settled.