Butte County city of Oroville just announced and adopted a resolution this week declaring itself a “Non-Sanctuary City”. This resolution was passed unanimously.
California is a sanctuary state, and some are saying this is a symbolic move on the city council’s part, mostly since there have been no direct issues in Butte County that officials can point to as reasons for making this move.
What is a sanctuary city or state? Typically, a Sanctuary City or State is one that doesn’t cooperate with the federal law enforcement agencies, mostly deals with immigration status, and does not take individuals into custody solely based on their status of immigration. Immigration offenses are deemed to be civil offenses and not criminal, so some argue that it’s a waste of taxpayers’ dollars to go after low-level offenses.
California became a sanctuary state in October 2017 when then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 54 into law, which is also known as the California Values Act.
Including California, there are 11 Sanctuary states in the United States of America:
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- Illinois
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- Rhode Island
- New York
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Vermont
Huntington Beach in Southern California is another city that has adopted a resolution like this since President Trump took office for his second term. The City of Oroville also added support for Huntington Beach in its lawsuit against the state of California.
Accessed on Unsplash Feb 20 2025
Oroville says they are calling themselves a “Non-Sanctuary City” for all criminals. In the resolution, named Resolution 9357, they claim that the city of Oroville will be safer if the officials work with federal law enforcement, regardless of individual immigration status.
According to Action News Now, which was at the City Hall meeting when this vote was taken place, that some in the community are against this position while others seem to support it. Oroville Mayor Pittman also noted that the resolution lacks any real authority to challenge something like SB 54.
Still, some are on edge, as this seems to be more of a symbolic move to the right since President Trump has regained power.
