Legal Insurrection by Leslie Eastman 5/5/2025
Mayor Bill Wells was joined by representatives of the America First Policy Institute to make the announcement, indicating they intend to force the issue of which takes precedence…federal or state laws.The city of El Cajon has sued the state of California over its “sanctuary state” laws.
There are enormous potential ramifications for this country, depending on the outcome of this case.
The city argues that offering illegal aliens drivers’ licenses and various protections is essentially illegal enticement under the federal statute that outlaws human smuggling.
The City Council voted 3-2 on Tuesday to pursue the litigation, which alleges in part that the El Cajon Police Department and its officers risk being held civilly and criminally liable under federal law if they follow California’s SB 54 and other state laws that limit their ability to work with federal immigration authorities.
Though the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the legality of SB 54 in 2019, the lawsuit filed Tuesday challenges that law and others on different legal grounds. It alleges that California’s various laws offering some benefits to undocumented immigrants amount to a violation of part of the human-smuggling statute — U.S. Code Section 1324 — that makes it a felony when a person “encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States.”
Mayor Bill Wells was joined by representatives of the America First Policy Institute to make the announcement, indicating they intend to force the issue of which takes precedence…federal or state laws.
Mayor Bill Wells and the America First Policy Institute announced the lawsuit outside City Hall, arguing that federal law supersedes state policy and that SB 54 puts local police officers in a difficult position.
“This might be one of the most important days of my life,” Wells said.
More:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/05/california-city-sues-state-citing-enticement-of-illegal-aliens-under-federal-smuggling-statute/
