Last week, when the Trump administration sued California over its so-called sanctuary laws, Gov. Jerry Brown and Atty. Gen. Xavier Beccera made it clear that Sacramento would resist any effort to force the state to take on federal immigration enforcement responsibilities. Instead they would do all they could to protect families, communities and business from the disruptions caused by deportations.
From immigrant rights to climate policy to minimum wage to making it easier to vote, the state functions as the epicenter of progressive opposition to Washington. Indeed, California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León greeted (or perhaps, bemoaned) the election of Donald Trump with a next day statement declaring that the state would “not be dragged into the past. We will lead the resistance to any effort that would shred our social fabric . . .”
California has been through the anxious, mean-spirited and divisive rhetoric and policy-making now gripping Washington. We’re here to say that there’s no need to repeat our mistakes. Building bridges rather than walls has paid off: California is a state of resistance, but it’s also a state of resilience, and the nation would do well to take notice.
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