[Cris Alarcon, PRpond]
El Dorado Sheriff John D’Agostini joined a roundtable discussion with President Trump, including more than 15 local law enforcement officials, lawmakers, and administration officials from California in a discussion with Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and ICE Director Thomas Homan on their opposition to California's sanctuary state policies.
Sheriff D’Agostini told the President “we just want to do our jobs and keep our communities safe. This bill absolutely jeopardizes public safety in our communities. We’re not immigration officers, we never have been and we’re never going to be. We just want to be able to cooperate with our federal partners so that these folks that end up in our custody and need to be deported, get deported,” the Sheriff said.
“We’ll take care of it” Trump said emphasizing the dangers of immigrant gang members. He assured the sheriff the administration would continue working.
McClintock has urged local elected officials in his Congressional District to comply with federal law in dealing with illegal aliens known to local law enforcement agencies. McClintock has asked several County Boards of Supervisors to take a stand against state actions that thwart enforcement of federal immigration law. “These state actions place local communities in direct defiance of federal law and prevent them from protecting the safety of their citizens,” McClintock said.
“Law enforcement is alarmed at the rising crime rate caused by California’s unprecedented flaunting of federal law,” McClintock said. “ I thank Sheriff D’Agostini for traveling to the White House to tell his story to the President and the nation, and for his courage in standing up for the people of El Dorado County.”
[THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES] Sheriff?
[SHERIFF D’AGOSTINI] Thank you, Mr. President. John D’Agostini. I’m the elected Sherriff of El Dorado County, California. the bottom line from sheriffs — and you’ll hear from my peers, as well — is we just want to do our jobs. We want to do what the people elected us to do, and that is respect our Constitution and keep our communities safe.
When this bill was being heard in legislature and it was going through ... what literally disgusted me was a common term that we heard throughout the discussion of SB 54 from different legislators. And the quote was, “We know this is bad policy but it’s great politics.” That’s wrong. Because this bill absolutely jeopardizes public safety in our communities.
We’re not immigration officers; we never have been, and we’re never going to be. We just want to be able to cooperate with our federal partners so that these folks that end up in our custody and need to be deported, get deported.
[THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES] Well, Sheriff, I’ll tell you what — it’s not bad politics anymore. You know, if you look at what’s going on — because I think, maybe, more than anyplace else right now, there’s a revolution going on in California.
