Oroville in Northern California votes to become non-sanctuary city
Oroville in Northern California votes to become non-sanctuary city
Oroville in Northern California votes to become non-sanctuary city
OROVILLE, Calif. - The city of Oroville in Northern California's Butte County decided to veer from the state's sanctuary law, in what is seen as a largely symbolic move.
"It's a statement that makes people feel better," Mayor David Pittman told KTVU on Thursday morning. "We haven't had any specific problems, it's just public perception. Our residents were asking us to do this."
Non-sanctuary city resolution is symbolic
In a 7-0 vote on Tuesday, the city council approved a resolution declaring Oroville which means "gold" in Spanish, and "town" in French, declaring it a non-sanctuary city.
"By making this declaration, it does at least put a flag on the radar to those in Sacramento that communicates that we in the North State do not agree with open border policies," said councilmember Scott Thomson who presented the resolution. "We do not agree with making our communities more dangerous — allowing repeat offenders who are continually violating the law to continue to have their way and we’re just okay with it. "
In a follow-up conversation with KTVU, Thomson said that the city's declaration as a non-sanctuary city "is not about targeting a specific group of people—it is about standing up for law and order, safer communities, and the ability of law enforcement to do their jobs without unnecessary restrictions from Sacramento."
Thomson conceded that the reality is, the resolution does not override state law, nor does it direct local law enforcement to act outside the boundaries of what is legally permitted.
It wasn't immediately clear how this resolution would play out, or if jails in the county would begin to hold ICE detainees.
Thomson said that, in reality, Oroville the city does not control the Butte County jail, and the non-sanctuary city resolution does not change the county's policies on detaining individuals for ICE.
"What it does change is the conversation," Thomson said.
He also added that, despite what it might appear, the non-sanctuary vote is "not about immigration. If anyone assumes that’s our focus, they are mistaken. This is a small piece of a much larger picture. This is about crime, accountability, and Sacramento’s relentless push to strip local communities of the ability to enforce the law effectively.... Sacramento is not listening to us. This resolution is about lifting our voices in hopes that they will hear us now."
Roughly 20,000 people live in Oroville, and 50,000 in the greater Oroville area, which is located in the Sierra Nevada foothills within the northern Sacramento Valley.
The council came to the vote, following a similar one by the city council of Huntington Beach in Southern California earlier this year. Oroville is considering joining Huntington Beach in a lawsuit against the state.
Specifically, the resolution declares the town "a non-sanctuary city for all criminals," states the city’s opposition to sanctuary policies that "may place our citizens at unnecessary risk" and "reaffirms (Oroville’s) commitment to work in full cooperation with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, for the apprehension and prosecution of criminals."
The mayor pointed out that council members removed language from the resolution that could have directed the city’s administrator and chief of police to violate the law, by helping ICE with civil detainees.
Immigration offenses, such as being illegally present in the U.S., are not criminal but civil offenses.
Several residents were on board with the vote.
"So we've seen, time and time again, that sanctuary policies put the rights of criminals above the safety of law-abiding citizens," a resident told the council. "Our police officers should not be forced to let repeat offenders go only to arrest them again and again after they commit another crime."
What is a sanctuary city or state?
California is a sanctuary state, and most cities in California are sanctuary cities, which means that local police do not cooperate with federal immigration agents. For example, local jails in sanctuary cities and counties do not cooperate by holding ICE detainees.
Sanctuary laws do not stop local law enforcement from enforcing criminal law, nor do they stop cooperation with federal criminal law enforcement. If an undocumented person has committed a violent crime, local authorities can, and will, cooperate with ICE.
Courts have repeatedly upheld the legality of sanctuary laws.
Some Oroville residents against the vote
While the council vote was unanimous, some residents spoke against the measure.
"I am a third generation person who lives in Oroville," one woman told the council. " My family immigrated here from Germany, and I can guarantee you, unless there are any indigenous people or people who are Mexican here, all of your families immigrated here, too."
Juan Araujo, an organizer with NorCal Resist in Chico, was not at the meeting, but said his group will be on alert to help anyone who needs it in Oroville, and beyond.
"This resolution is nothing but posturing and does nothing to help the material conditions of anyone living in Oroville," he said. "It's a misguided action that will likely spread fear amongst Oroville residents."
Oroville's city attorney warned council members that the resolution does not protect the city from state prosecution or sanctions for violating California's voter-approved sanctuary law in 2017.
Demographics
Oroville's demographic makeup is about 65% white, 12% Asian, 7% Hispanic and 3% Black, according to the Census.
In Butte County, population 220,000, the politics are divided.
In the 2024 presidential election, 49.9% voted for Donald Trump, and 46.8% voted for Kamala Harris.
Oroville was incorporated in 1906 and served as a supply depot miners working the Feather River.
Oroville is home to the tallest dam – 770 feet -- in the United States, which sits on that river.
Sanctuary city hearings in D.C.
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Republican members of Congress hammered four Democratic mayors Wednesday about their so-called sanctuary city policies, accusing them of endangering Americans and threatening to prosecute local officials. The mayors pushed back, defending their communities as welcoming places — not lawless danger zones — and called on Congress to pass immigration reforms.
The comments came in an often fiery hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, where Republicans said the mayors were undermining President Donald Trump's immigration and mass deportation efforts.
But the Democratic mayors — Michelle Wu of Boston, Brandon Johnson of Chicago, Mike Johnston of Denver and Eric Adams of New York — defended their policies as legal, even as they seemed to carefully avoid using the term "sanctuary."
Republicans, they said, were trying to paint their cities as overrun by criminal immigrants even as crime was falling. The mayors said a key to safety is creating cities where residents feel comfortable reporting crimes and working with police.
"We know there are myths about these laws. But we must not let mischaracterizations and fearmongering obscure the reality that Chicago’s crime rates are trending down," Johnson told the committee in a hearing room packed with reporters and onlookers. "We still have a long way to go, but sensationalizing tragedy in the name of political expediency is not governing. It’s grandstanding."