Community advocacy groups, including the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties, are urging the San Diego Board of Supervisors to not support the Trump administration's lawsuit against California's so-called sanctuary state laws.
“To make a decision with this magnitude and far-reaching impacts in secret and without listening to the people of San Diego is total lack of transparency,” said Norma Chavez-Peterson, executive director of the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties.
"There’s a big question here," Chavez-Peterson said. "Where does the county board of supervisors in San Diego stand? Do they stand with California? I mean these are California policies that were not easy to pass."
RELATED: San Diego County Likely To Join Trump’s Sanctuary Lawsuit, Jacob Says
Chair of the board of supervisors Kristin Gaspar was recently on Fox News where she discussed the upcoming meeting.
“This is a politically super-charged issue as you might imagine," Gaspar told Fox News. "We’re talking about hundreds of emails pouring in from all sides. But let us not forget, let's take the emotion out of this. We’re talking about following the constitutional laws of our land."
Supervisor Dianne Jacob said in an interview with Fox News that she expects the board to support the Trump administration's lawsuit.
"I am cautiously optimistic that we’ll have at least three votes out of the five," Jacob said. "And that’s all it takes."
RELATED: Escondido Council Vote 4-1 In Favor Of Supporting Trump's Sanctuary Lawsuit
Escondido took up the issue in open session on April 4. The city council there voted 4-1 to support the lawsuit.
"I urge San Diego County, and the 18 municipalities to join the fight," Escondido Mayor Sam Abed said last week. "Support the department of justice lawsuit against the state of California."
In a statement to KPBS, Gaspar said, "I want to be clear that the core of this discussion is public safety. I have been vocal in my support of upholding the law and protecting the 3.5 million people who call San Diego home. This issue was already decided in 2012 when the Obama-led Department of Justice and Supreme Court determined that local laws can't override Federal law. I have asked our Counsel to prepare to discuss all of our options with regard to the current lawsuit during our April 17th meeting."
The lawsuit is being discussed in closed session next week. A spokeswoman for Gaspar said the county is following past practices, where all legal matters are discussed in closed session.
