Save Our State - Now here's one we didn't see coming ...

Villaraigosa urges Brown to sign immigration bill

Quote:

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Wednesday urged Gov. Jerry Brown to sign legislation that would prohibit local law enforcement from detaining arrestees who are illegal immigrants as well as effectively blunt federal deportation efforts.

Villaraigosa's comments came during a lunch panel at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., where the mayor is serving as chairman of the proceedings. Asked about the measure, which passed the Legislature last week, he said the governor should "absolutely" sign it.

"Gov. Brown should sign it," Villaraigosa said at the panel event, which was sponsored by the National Journal, ABC News and Univision. "I expect him to sign it."

He added: “California needs to be different from Arizona."

Advocates of the bill have argued that California should use the legislation to distinguish itself from such states as Arizona, which sparked a national firestorm with its tough anti-illegal-immigration law.

But, isn't it argued in the case of Arizona AB 1070 that immigration law is the sole domain of the federal government?

Is not to water down federal immigration law with state legislation treading on federal turf? Shouldn't Eric Holder be flying in with lawsuits to prevent the California legislature from stepping away from secure communities?

How 'bout having some cake and eating it too?