California sheriff vows to defy statewide sanctuary law: ‘This is common sense’

Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman waded into a spot of contention this twelvemonth erstwhile helium openly said helium would subordinate a California instrumentality that limits practice betwixt section and national authorities. 

Citing his work to enforce nationalist information successful his agrarian region located 135 miles eastbound of San Francisco, Redman remains the lone sheriff successful the authorities who has pledged to defy California's 2017 sanctuary authorities law, besides known arsenic the California Values Act, oregon SB 54. 

More specifically, Redman said helium volition interaction U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) erstwhile he's alert that a idiosyncratic successful section custody is successful the state illegally and poses a superior nationalist information threat. 

"It's astir [like] we're going to re-victimize the unfortunate again. That's what I spot with this law," Redman told Fox News Digital. "How tin you archer maine that I person to fto idiosyncratic who is present illegally successful the state … and enactment them backmost into nine erstwhile they've committed a heinous crime?"

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Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman (Amador County Sheriff's Office)

"You're making maine marque that choice. Well, I'm conscionable not consenting to bash it due to the fact that I got elected to beryllium the sheriff of Amador County, wherever nationalist information is my No. 1priority," helium added. 

The vow goes against SB 54, which allows section authorities to interaction ICE lone erstwhile an amerciable migrant is convicted of definite offenses and is astir to beryllium released from custody. State lawmakers passed the instrumentality during the archetypal Trump medication successful an effort to guarantee that section instrumentality enforcement is not utilized to assistance migration officials.

The metropolis of Jackson successful Amador County, Calif. (REUTERS/Kate Munsch)

Fox News Digital has reached retired to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), assorted migrant rights groups, the Amador County and statewide Republican and Democratic parties, and the governor's bureau for remark connected the matter. 

"I worked successful the justness strategy for years and saw however anemic laws enactment the nationalist successful danger," California Republican Party Chair Corrin Rankin told Fox News Digital. "What we’re proceeding from Sheriff Redman is what galore successful instrumentality enforcement person been saying for a agelong time: California’s sanctuary authorities instrumentality makes it harder to halt convulsive criminals."

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Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman said helium volition interruption a California sanctuary authorities instrumentality successful bid to support residents. (Getty Images | Amador County Sheriff's Office)

"Democrats successful Sacramento passed these laws knowing they necktie the hands of sheriffs and police. When section officials spot a threat, they should beryllium capable to act," Rankin added. 

Around 6% of Amador County's 42,000 residents are foreign-born, according to U.S. Census data. Despite the debased figure, Asian gangs with amerciable immigrants person acceptable up marijuana-growing operations successful the area, Redman said. 

"That's what we dealt with implicit the past 10 years," Redman said. 

The sheriff announced his stance connected the sanctuary authorities instrumentality successful a February quality merchandise posted to the Amador County Sheriff’s Office Facebook leafage successful effect to persistent questions from residents astir however his bureau would grip immigration-related matters during President Donald Trump's 2nd term. 

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Illegal immigrants hold to beryllium picked up astatine the confederate border. (Bill Melugin/Fox News)

While different sheriffs crossed the authorities person said they volition enactment astir SB 54, Redman's announcement is antithetic successful that helium makes it wide that helium knows helium volition interruption authorities law. That has enactment him successful the crosshairs of the California Attorney General's Office. 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has pledged to support migrant communities up and down the authorities by upholding SB 54, contempt detractors pointing retired that it allows transgression amerciable immigrants to locomotion the streets and perchance reoffend, sometimes violently. 

The metropolis of Jackson successful Amador County, Calif. (REUTERS/Kate Munsch)

In an email to Fox News Digital, Bonta's bureau noted that national courts person ruled that the authorities sanctuary instrumentality doesn’t struggle with national law.

"The Attorney General is committed to protecting and ensuring the rights of California’s migrant communities and upholding captious laws similar SB 54, which guarantee that authorities and section resources spell toward warring transgression successful California communities, not toward national migration enforcement," the email states.  

"Federal courts person upheld SB 54 and person recovered it to not beryllium successful struggle with national instrumentality (the Ninth Circuit’s 2019 sentiment is attached for reference)," his bureau said. "We are intimately monitoring instrumentality enforcement compliance with SB 54."

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., who precocious introduced national authorities that would alteration section authorities that privation to cooperate with national migration enforcement to bash truthful careless of immoderate authorities law, cited the lawsuit of David Mora, 39, who overstayed his visa aft entering California successful 2018 from Mexico. 

In 2022, ICE asked to beryllium notified upon Mora's merchandise from jailhouse aft his apprehension for assaulting a California Highway Patrol officer. The Merced County Sheriff's Office had Mora successful custody and received a petition from ICE to detain him, but Mora was released due to the fact that of the sanctuary law, the sheriff's bureau said.

He past killed his 3 daughters wrong a Sacramento religion arsenic good arsenic a chaperone who was supervising his sojourn with the children, earlier taking his ain life. 

"There is nary uncertainty successful my caput that if I was capable to cooperate with ICE, this calamity could person been avoided," Merced County Sheriff Vernon H. Warnke said successful a connection astatine the time. "Under existent law, nationwide instrumentality enforcement’s hands are tied with policies that person a important interaction connected our communities and their prime of life."

"The sanctuary instrumentality is utterly indefensible," Kiley told Fox News Digital. "It has led to many, galore tragedies crossed the state. It's 1 of the reasons California has had the precise worst amerciable migration occupation during the Biden administration."

He added the instrumentality was "legally dubious" successful that it seeks to interruption national law.

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Redman, who grew up successful progressive Los Angeles County, said helium partially came retired publically with his stance connected the sanctuary instrumentality due to the fact that of the Trump medication and its willingness to support section officials who enactment with ICE. 

"I've ever felt this way, but determination wasn't a accidental successful hellhole I was going to accidental this nether the Biden administration," Redman said. "I didn't spot the lawyer wide astatine the time. I didn't spot the Biden medication arsenic acold arsenic coming aft me. Absolutely, I don't deliberation that's going to hap nether the Trump administration."

Among California sheriffs, Redman, who considers himself a mean Republican, stands alone. 

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is moving to go California's adjacent governor, has advocated for abolishing sanctuary authorities policies and requiring section instrumentality enforcement to cooperate with national migration authorities. 

In summation to Redman, 2 California cities, Huntington Beach and Oroville, person defiantly declared themselves non-sanctuary cities. In Amador County, astir 49% of voters are registered Republicans, dwarfing the 27% who align with Democrats, according to the California Secretary of State's office. 

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That could beryllium a crushed wherefore a Change.org petition calling for Redman to beryllium removed has lone received 53 signatures since March 1. 

"I'm friends with a batch of progressives present successful Amador County, and what they've ever recovered is I'm tenable and I'm consenting to listen," Redman said. "My Democratic friends person travel retired and said, 'We enactment you, Gary. This is communal sense. We're bushed of California and the mode California's going wherever they proceed to elevate criminals.'"