Huntington Beach to Trump admin: 'We are not a sanctuary city'
The Brief
The Trump administration published a list of 500+ "sanctuary jurisdictions" they say are obstructing immigration enforcement.
Huntington Beach was included on the list.
In January, Huntington Beach actually declared itself a "non-sanctuary city."
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - The city of Huntington Beach is speaking out after the Trump administration put the city on a list of more than 500 "sanctuary jurisdictions," which the administration says is obstructing federal immigration enforcement.
There's just one issue. The city legally declared that they were the exact opposite earlier this year.
RELATED: Trump administration applies pressure on 'sanctuary jurisdictions' with public listing
The backstory
The Department of Homeland Security published a list of more than 500 communities on Friday that they say are not complying with federal immigration enforcement. DHS said that it used several things to come up with their list, including whether the community self-identifies as a sanctuary, whether they offer protection to undocumented immigrants and more.
This is all a response to an executive order President Donald Trump signed in April.
Every jurisdiction on the list will get a notice from DHS and the Department of Justice. According to the executive order, jurisdictions that don't start complying with immigration enforcement could lose out on federal grants and contracts.
Included on the list is the state of California as a whole, all but 10 of the state's 58 counties, and more than 60 cities in California. Among those listed is Huntington Beach in Orange County.
SEE THE FULL LIST HERE
What we know
But, back in January, the Huntington Beach City Council voted unanimously to declare themselves a "non-sanctuary city." The move was a response to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's plans to "Trump-proof" the state shortly before Trump took office.
RELATED: Gov. Newsom says he's going to 'Trump proof' California state laws
Needless to say, city officials are confused as to why they were put on DHS' list on Friday.
What they're saying
"We adopted a formal policy on this. It went before the council, and we unanimously agreed that Huntington Beach is not a sanctuary city," Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns said in a press release on Friday. "We took deliberate action to make our non-sanctuary status clear."
Burns said the city's inclusion on the list is either a misprint or a mistake. And Huntington Beach isn't the only one.
"We're hearing there are other local governments that are also misidentified, including Baltimore, Maryland; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Shasta County, California — all of which have either declared themselves non-sanctuary jurisdictions or follow non-sanctuary policies," Burns said.
What's next
Burns said he has reached out to contacts in the federal government to get Huntington Beach taken off the list. Federal officials said the list would be updated regularly.
The Source
Information in this story is from the Department of Homeland Security's list of "sanctuary jurisdictions," a press release from the City of Huntington Beach, and previous FOX 11 reports.
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