Editorial: Marin needs to protect federal funding from Trump retribution
The Marin County Board of Supervisors’ decision to join a lawsuit aimed at protecting its federal funding against President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration policies is on strong political footing based on local voters’ sentiments.
In the November presidential election, Trump received just 18% of the votes from Marin voters. Local voters favored the Democratic nominee: then-Vice President Kamala Harris. She won 81% of the votes. Over the past eight months, there’s been little sign that support for Trump and his new administration has grown.
The lawsuit, in which the county joins 48 other jurisdictions across the country, challenges executive orders that Washington withhold federal funds to jurisdictions that refuse to support Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, especially funds that support “sanctuary” policies.
The lawsuit claims that the administration’s orders “violate the Tenth Amendment, Separation of Powers, the Spending Clause and the Due Process Clause.”
San Francisco and San Mateo counties are among the jurisdictions that have joined the lawsuit.
The county has taken a strong stance in refusing to join federal immigration officers in their arrests. Its policies comply with state law, which limits the use of local law enforcement resources for federal immigration enforcement.
“This is about protecting the values and priorities of Marin County residents,” said Marin County Counsel Brian Washington. “We’re standing up for our constitutional rights – and for our community.”
The supervisors’ decision may disappoint the Marin Republican Party, but it is in line with the sentiments of most of Marin’s voters, as reflected in November’s results.
Meanwhile, the administration has stepped up its arrests and deportations. Recently, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in seven Southern California counties. The lawsuit that led to the order accused federal officials of detaining people based on their race and carrying out warrantless arrests. Among the plaintiffs were two U.S. citizens, one of whom was detained despite having shown agents his identification.
Federal authorities have responded, calling their enforcement priorities “highly targeted.”
The judge also ordered that federal officials could not restrict attorney access at a Los Angeles immigration detention facility.
A longstanding concern among Marin officials has been that if undocumented immigrants feel as though they are being hunted, out of fear of arrest and deportation, they won’t cooperate with local law enforcement, get care for public health matters or send their children to school.
There is also a recognition that many of these immigrants have made their home in our county for decades and are working and contributing members of the Marin community.
Their path to citizenship has been blocked by fear. The need for reform has been obvious for years, but Congress cannot reach a consensus on the issue.
Trump’s return to the White House in January was fueled by his attacks on undocumented immigrants, inaccurately and unfairly characterizing the estimated more than 11 million Latino immigrants as criminals perpetrating violent crimes and drug-dealing. He’s living up to his campaign promise to dramatically step up immigration arrests. The Republican-controlled Congress has passed $170 billion in funding for enforcement. At the same time, Trump is ordering the discontinuation of funding for jurisdictions that refuse to follow his lead.
Using funding as coercion to support his agenda is not right. A lot of the federal funding Marin receives is for programs and services that have nothing to do with immigration. Marin is right to join the lawsuit and challenge the constitutionality of the president’s hurtful strategy.