Rep. Ken Calvert: California Democrats take hypocrisy to new heights in stance on sanctuary laws and National Guard

"President Trump might be able to tweet whatever comes to mind, but he can't grant himself new authority because he feels like it," San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said in November, after the city filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the president's executive order defunding sanctuary cities. (Associated Press)

When California Gov. Jerry Brown decided to support President Trump’s call to put National Guard troops along the U.S. border with Mexico to keep out drug smugglers, human traffickers and gangs, I nearly fell out of my chair.

So let me get this straight – the Democratic governor wants to keep these people from entering the state, but if they do sneak in he won’t support deporting them? The hypocrisy would be laughable if it wasn’t so frustrating.

I tried to follow the logic, but then realized that when it comes to President Trump, California Democratic politicians have lost all ability to use logic or reason. After all, senseless outrage gets more “likes” than reasonable discourse.

Let’s face it, if President Trump found a cure for cancer, you can bet that some California Democratic politician would find a reason to denounce him for it.

I suppose even Gov. Brown realized how out of touch it would look to oppose putting the National Guard along our southern border since about 99 percent of all illegal drugs come from Mexico, not to mention the deadly business of an open border that encourages human trafficking.

Gov. Brown won’t support a wall along our southern border, but he desperately wants to erect one between federal and local law enforcement partners.

So last month the governor coordinated with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to accept federal funding to deploy 400 members of the California National Guard to the California-Mexico border.

In his communication with DHS, Brown clarified that the California Guard members would “support operations targeting transnational criminal gangs, human traffickers and illegal firearm and drug smugglers.” The fact that he is acknowledging a problem at the border is a good first step.

Unfortunately it’s campaign season, and I fear this will be the last rational act by Democrats, at least until after the November elections.

Democratic politicians in California have almost universally opted for the same political playbook that consists of doing and saying anything to oppose the policies coming out of the Trump administration. While that may be a time-honored political tradition, we should draw the line when their actions threaten the safety of Americans.

The passage of the sanctuary state law that places restrictions on the communications between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies is incredibly dangerous. There are a host of reasons and real world examples where collaborative communication between federal and local law enforcement partners made the difference in protecting the public.

California State Sheriffs Association President Bill Brown illustrated the concerns by highlighting the fact that the sanctuary state law contains “significant liabilities, which include restricting our communications with federal law enforcement about the release of wanted, undocumented criminals from our jails, including known gang members, repeat drunk drivers, persons who assault peace officers, serial thieves, animal abusers, and other serious offenders.”

Gov. Brown won’t support a wall along our southern border, but he desperately wants to erect one between federal and local law enforcement partners.

Thankfully Californians see past Brown’s irresponsible attempts to thwart law and order. Cities across the state, including the cities of Corona and Lake Elsinore in the 42nd Congressional District that I represent in the U.S. House, have taken action to oppose the sanctuary state law. I applaud them for their courage and leadership.

Now it’s time for California Democrats to step up and stop playing politics with the safety of the public. They need to put the interests of Americans and legal residents ahead of criminal illegal immigrants. It’s obvious to anyone paying attention that their efforts to protect criminal illegal immigrants are nothing but a desperate attempt to re-litigate the presidential election they lost.