Ex-governor distances himself from California's sanctuary policies he set in motion

Former California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) attempted to distance himself from the extreme sanctuary policies in the state despite being the one who initially set them in motion.

During a Thursday interview with KXTV, Brown claimed policies prohibiting local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with federal immigration officers have gone too far.

'Subsequent legislation ... has taken it broader.'

Brown previously supported California Assembly Bill 4, preventing local law enforcement agencies from complying with Immigration and Customs Enforcement's detainer requests.

ICE's detainers asked law enforcement to hold already detained illegal aliens up to 48 hours beyond their release date to allow federal agents to transfer them to federal custody. By ignoring these detainer requests, criminal illegal immigrants are released back into the community, forcing ICE to use extra resources to find and arrest those individuals. This is both more costly for taxpayers and more dangerous for immigration agents.

In 2017, amid the first Trump administration, Brown also supported California Senate Bill 54, which barred the transfer of illegal aliens to ICE and banned informing the federal agency about inmate release dates.

Brown's position on sanctuary laws re-emerged as a point of discussion in California this week following the San Diego County Board of Supervisors' decision to approve a policy that broadens protections for illegal immigrants, including those with criminal records.

In her proposal, Chairwoman Nora Vargas claimed that the new sanctuary policy aligned with state laws enacted by Brown.

The recently passed policy "ensures that absent a federal warrant, no release will be delayed." It further prohibits ICE from using county detention facilities "for investigative interviews or other purposes."

KXTV told Brown that critics of California's sanctuary laws argue that the state should lose federal funding for allegedly violating federal immigration laws.

Brown responded, "The bill that I signed [SB 54] had a number of exceptions. There was people who were convicted of violent crimes — or even with serious crimes — were not getting any benefit of any so-called sanctuary."

"It was a matter of having state officials handle state-level matters and not try to play like they do in Texas, that they're federal officials," Brown stated.

He claimed, "Subsequent legislation, I think, has taken it broader, and some of the cities, like San Francisco, have gone way, way beyond in their effort to create a wall, almost a separation of state and federal government."

"I think that is gonna prove difficult," Brown remarked.

He further claimed that Democrats are now advocating for stronger borders and a lawful process to allow in foreign nationals.

"The fact is that we very much depend on immigrants, but we should have a process, and the Republicans have disrupted that," Brown said.

He hopes the incoming Trump administration could implement a more orderly, lawful process, noting that the number of foreign nationals allowed into the U.S. would need to be "restricted substantially."

Brown rejected the narrative that California is defying federal immigration laws.

"There is a level of cooperation, but we're not handing people over to the federal government. The federal government certainly can show up wherever they want to show up," he added.

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