California sanctuary city rule may conflict with federal law, mayor says

Los Alamitos, California, Mayor Troy Edgar explains why the city voted to opt out of California’s state law that guaranteed its status as a sanctuary state.

A small Los Angeles suburb claims the state’s sanctuary city law may be at odds with federal laws and the Constitution.

“We couldn’t find ourselves defending the oath of the Constitution and then basically trying to defend this law that basically would tell us to defend the state constitution over the federal or U.S. Constitution,” Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar told FOX Business’ Stuart Varney on “Varney & Co.”

Los Alamitos, the second-smallest city in Orange County, California, voted Monday night to opt out of the state’s law that limits cooperation between local police and federal immigration agents.

The community will file an amicus brief with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions against the state of California, Edgar said. He added that the city’s stance could lead to a lawsuit from California’s Office of the Attorney General.

The newly passed law is scheduled for a second vote next month. “There are cities in California that don’t agree with the direction that the state is going,” Edgar said.