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ALPERN AT LARGE - Governor Newsom wants to Trump-proof the state…whatever that means.
Los Angeles and other major California cities, fresh off of throwing out rogue and left-wing District Attorneys and Mayors because the latter thwarted local, state, and federal laws simply just because they just didn’t like them…are now going to thwart federal immigration law and become sanctuary cities…whatever that means.
Mayors and governors throughout California and the nation are angling to go to jail to make political points among their constituents…whatever that means.
So where and what is the “end-game” here?
What are those decrying the enforcement of federal immigration laws, present on the books but amazingly and jaw-droppingly ignored for decades, playing at?
Better yet, if politicians go to jail resisting ICE and other federal law enforcement agencies (maybe even the U.S. military), will they be supported? Applauded? Lionized?
…or decried and lampooned?
E-Verify and penalizing employers and public jurisdictions (cities, counties, states, etc.) who violate the law might just be fined and penalized to end the problem.
However, the likelihood of public spectacles, pleading families, tearful children, etc. might not be interpreted the same way by all parties concerned.
As a husband, father, physician (who takes care of many patients who almost certainly are not here legally consistent with federal law), and former community leader, I dread what’s coming.
I also decry and dread what’s going on with American citizens, homeless and hopeless, who find a major shortage of resources coming their way in light of all the money being thrown in mighty waves at those who knowingly broke the law to do so.
There will be a “Resistance,” of course, but at this immediate time I am not certain if this new “Resistance” will work as well now as it did in 2016-2020.
So should Governor Newsom and a bunch of local mayors and state leaders declare independence and leave the union if President-Elect Trump and the federal government take on “sanctuary cities”, halt and fine the daylights out of those who employee illegal immigrants, and enforce laws long unforced (but now popularly enforced)?
In short, I’m not certain what sort of response we’ll see when Tom Homan and ICE and the military come charging in to focus on those illegal immigrants who have criminal records.
Especially when we’ll need OTHER illegal immigrants who know those with criminal records the most in order to find and catch them.
I also truly wonder how many Californians will choose the side of the President over that of Governor Newsom and/or Mayor Bass if the federal and California and city governments collide.
There will be heart-rendering images and videos of families in crisis, screaming with fear and uncertainty…yet the question of whether those enforcing the law or those who enabled breaking the law will be blamed more should be an interesting debate.
After all, despite the screaming from the pro-Palestinian side, most Americans support Israel in finally enforcing the law…
…perhaps a lousy comparison, but will most Americans—even most Californians—blame those who encouraged illegal immigrants to break the law, or those who are carrying out the law voted on both sides of the political aisle for decades (if not centuries)?
So maybe Governor Newsome SHOULD secede…or not.
But it does look like 2025 will potentially be even crazier than 2024…
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father. He was active for 20 years on the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) as a Board Member focused on Planning and Transportation, and helped lead the grassroots efforts of the Expo Line as well as connecting LAX to MetroRail. His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
