City of San Jose Wants It “Both Ways”

The City of San Jose is walking a thin line when it states on its website that it is not a sanctuary city.  That may sound good, but its policies do align with sanctuary principals.  This is because the City does have a policy that its officers won’t arrest individuals because of their immigration status.   Hmmm – isn’t that what they do in sanctuary cities?

So, what is a sanctuary city?

A sanctuary city is a city that has policies designed to limit its cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.  The idea is to provide a “safe” environment for undocumented immigrants by not allowing local resources to be used for immigration enforcement, except in certain circumstances.  It is allegedly a way to foster trust between local communities and law enforcement

So on the one hand when San Jose declares it is NOT a sanctuary city, but encourages its law enforcement to look the other way, clearly the City wants to have their cake and eat it too.

Most people agree that illegal immigration is a huge issue.  The federal government wants to eliminate sanctuary cities by cutting off funding to any city that declares itself to be a sanctuary city.

Mayor Mahan and the San Jose City Council has on its agenda for Tuesday, August 26th a Recommendation to authorize the City Attorney to join in an amicus brief drafted by the Public Rights Project on behalf of local government entities in support of the City of Rochester, New York’s motion for judgement on the pleadings.  The amicus brief supports Rochester by highlighting the public health and safety interests promoted by “sanctuary” policies.  (Case No. 6:25-cv-06226-FPG-MJD <W.D.N.Y.> ) This case was brought by the United States to compel Rochester to abandon its “sanctuary city” policy.

So what message is San Jose sending to its citizens?  How much money have they committed to supporting a City all the way across the country?  Couldn’t they find a better way to spend money they don’t have?

We the people of the South Bay, including San Jose and all neighboring cities, are affected by poor leadership.  We demand straight talk and accountability, not smoke and mirrors.  This may look like they are doing the right thing, but in reality, this may be the wolf in sheep’s clothing.