The cities of Seal Beach and Los Alamitos will not likely be the next Orange County cities to jump on the “rule of law city” bandwagon. Costa Mesa and the City of Orange recently passed similar motions and Seal Beach Councilmember Charles Antos requested a measured be considered at the council meeting on Monday of this week.

Seal Beach residents who take advantage of the public comment period during the council meetings are not typically characterized as timid about expressing their opinions. This past meeting was no exception, but although there were plenty of comments on other subjects, not a single person came forward to address the city council on the rule of law proposal.

The staff report for Monday’s city council meeting included the following:
“This report is provided in response to a request by Councilmember {Charles} Antos regarding the consideration of declaring Seal Beach as a "Rule of Law City” pertaining to immigration enforcement.” The staff report included as an attachment, a copy of the resolution adopted by Costa Mesa.

“The Costa Mesa city council passed a unanimous resolution in a May 18, 2010 meeting declaring the City of Costa Mesa to be a ‘Rule of Law City’ in regards to upholding our immigration laws,” said local attorney Fred Peters. “This resolution was targeted specifically at illegal immigration enforcement, pointing out enforcement problems by the ICE and highlighting the city's aggressive policy towards determining immigration status of those arrested or imprisoned in Costa Mesa.”

These so called “rule of law” proposals are meant to show support for the controversial Arizona law regarding illegal immigration enforcement, which has been applauded in some jurisdictions and criticized in others. Some cities have gone so far as to call themselves sanctuary cities, which is essentially the opposite of the rule of law cities.

“Costa Mesa acted in direct response to the trend of declaring cities as "sanctuary cities" when it comes to illegal immigration enforcement, a trend which did not start in response to the Arizona Immigration Law, but has been ongoing for more than 30 years,” said Peters.

Seal Beach Councilmember Antos asked the council to “Have a resolution prepared for consideration by the council at the next meeting.” But, in response to a question, Jeff Kirkpatrick, Chief of Police for Seal Beach, told the council “Our crime right now is down about 15%,” and the city did not need such an ordinance.

Once the city’s police chief concluded that statement, the council did not need any more discussion or information. They voted 5/0 to indefinitely “receive and file” the staff report, which is city government speak for rejection of the motion.

“There would be a negative impact on us in the Seal Beach Police Department in my professional wisdom,” said Kirkpatrick. “In my opinion, such an ordinance and such an enforcement action would interfere with whatever trust we might have with those, undocumented folks who either traverse our community or live in it. It would make it that much harder for law enforcement officials to enforce the law.”

Seth Eaker, President of the Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce also told www.OC180NEWS.com such a measure was unneeded. “I don’t believe we have a lawlessness issue. We have a cohesive town with a well structured police force and an engaged community. I think to focus on something like this is just not productive, said Eaker. “It’s political grandstanding—it’s just words—it doesn’t have a meaningful affect on law.”

Whether or not these resolutions have any affect is a matter on which not all agree. “These resolutions, even though they enact no new laws or policies, serve an important role in the development of new laws.” said attorney Peters. “At first glance, a Sanctuary City ordinance may be viewed as political posturing, however they have been used over 3 decades to justify further laws and policies forbidding local police from helping federal officials enforce immigration law. I am sure the Rule of Law ordinance will be used in much the same way.”

Peters continued “These ordinances pave the way for more stringent immigration policies. By stimulating public discussion and debate, they soften the blow of controversial and radical proposals which drastically alter the legal landscape. They are, in short, far from meaningless and much more than political posturing, as they serve as important moral and political justifications for more stringent immigration policies.”

Meaningful or not, Los Alamitos is not likely to carry the rule of law banner either. Although he could be reversed by the city council, City Manager Jeff Stewart, told www.OC180NEWS.com “We have no intention of bringing the issue up.”

Attorney Fred S. Peters can be reached by email at: attorneyfredpeters@gmail.com