Mayor to Calif. AG: Do your state a favor and reprioritize

A California mayor suggests the state's attorney general needs to concentrate more on prosecuting dangerous illegal alien criminals – and less on defending the state's sanctuary policy.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors has voted to condemn the state's sanctuary law and to join a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit that contends it's unconstitutional. The law, Senate Bill 54, limits police cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Dave Harrington is the mayor of Aliso Viejo, a city in southern Orange County, California. During an appearance on Fox News, he shared that he's hearing a lot of positive feedback from his residents about the vote.

"The issue isn't about immigration. It's about criminals who violate the law further and then get released without any contact with immigration officials whatsoever to make sure that they should be allowed back into the communities," he stated. "By and large, most of the feedback has been very positive."

Law enforcement authorities in Orange County have announced they will cooperate with federal authorities and ignore the state's pro-illegal alien sanctuary law. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra hinted at a press conference that Orange County's sheriff could be prosecuted for refusing to comply with the state law. (See related story)

Harrington argues his point that Becerra should spend more time prosecuting dangerous criminals in the state rather than going after local law enforcement.

"We had a suspect arrested who had 32 pounds of methamphetamines [with a] $480,000 street value. Where's his interest in keeping those drugs off the street and keeping those criminals behind bars?," he asks. "So I think he needs to reprioritize and maybe start looking at keeping our communities safer and quit letting violent felons out of prison."

In Harrington's opinion, his city's decision will cause a "chain reaction" as more California communities join the fight against the state's sanctuary policy.