LOS ALAMITOS, CA (KCAL/KCBS/CNN) – A small city is moving to opt out of the state's sanctuary system.
Officials in Los Alamitos want to be exempt from the state law designed to protect some undocumented immigrants from deportation.
Cheers erupted after city council members voted 4-1 Monday night in favor of an initial measure to opt out of the state’s sanctuary law, which restricts the cooperation of local law enforcement with federal immigration authorities.
More than 150 people listened to two hours of heated testimony before the ordinance was passed.
Mayor Troy Edgar said the bottom line came down to choosing federal law over state law.
"We look at that law and we feel it conflicts with the U.S. Constitution to pick state law over federal law, and a lot of it, on a constitutional basis, we wanted to provide clarity to the city," Edgar said.
Some argued that protecting undocumented immigrants by limiting cooperation between police and ICE hurts law-abiding immigrants.
Others said that dropping the city’s sanctuary status will likely bring lawsuits.
"You are subjecting the city of Los Alamitos at taxpayers’ expense to lawsuits," said a woman who spoke at the council meeting.
Some residents spoke in favor of cooperation between local and federal authorities.
"Federal laws apply, and if the person has done something wrong, I think the local authorities should cooperate with federal authorities regarding federal law," resident Bill Dumbauld said.
The city council must vote again next month to formally pass the ordinance.
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