It looks like California is on track to go full-blown “sanctuary state” rather than just a series of sanctuary cities. But the bill currently moving through Sacramento to make it official has been watered down and it lacks the support of the state’s sheriffs.

They finally received the support of the police unions, but only by removing some of the key restrictions on how and when law enforcement can engage and cooperate with federal officials. The sheriffs agreed that the changes were a step in the right direction, but not nearly enough. Amazingly, the Democrats who run the legislature and the state’s governor don’t seem to be overly concerned with the opinions of the men and women who are actually charged with enforcing the law and keeping the state’s residents safe. (Associated Press)

California police chiefs have dropped their opposition to a weakened “sanctuary state” measure that would restrict their interactions with immigration authorities, but sheriffs remained opposed Tuesday saying the measure would still limit their authority to work with federal officers in jails…

It’s better, the sheriffs said, but still problematic.

“We’re passing laws to not communicate with other governmental agencies and I just struggle with that,” Kings County Sheriff David Robinson, a vocal critic of the bill, told The Associated Press. “I’m still adamantly opposed to the bill. It does nothing to protect immigrants, whether legal or illegal. It only protects criminals.”

Immigration advocates generally applauded the latest version, even with DeLeon’s concessions. For them, the bill delivers a rare victory during Trump’s presidency, preserving some protections for people in the country illegally and adding others.

The head of the California Police Chiefs Association was apparently convinced by liberal lawmakers to lend the support of his union, but only after ensuring that the police could collaborate with the Feds. Still, he put out a politically charged statement saying that the police “should not be used to assist in mass deportations.”

That’s one of the stranger things to come out of the mouth of any law enforcement representative in recent memory. The police only deal with ICE on a case by case basis. They’re not tasked with going out and rounding up large numbers of illegal aliens. In fact, the only time they wind up receiving a detainer from ICE is when they’ve already got an illegal alien in one of their jail cells on other charges.

The Kings County Sheriff was far closer to the mark. It was something of a relief to hear a person in his position flatly state that these policies do nothing to protect immigrants and only protect criminals. Consider that for a moment. If you actually had a vested interest in keeping your community safe, would you rather take the word of the people who are out there fighting crime on a daily basis or some hyperbolic state politician who’s engaged in an ongoing battle to see if they can #RESIST Trump more than the next guy?

California’s elected officials keep hurling one liberal cow patty after another at the wall to see what will stick with their far left base. Sadly, in the process, they are bankrupting their state and making their citizens less safe. It’s difficult to muster too much sympathy for them, however, because this is an entirely fixable problem. Unfortunately, they keep electing the same people over and over again so no progress will be made.