Pirate's Cove

If it turns out cops are telling federal authorities about the really bad ones, will the People’s Republik of California tell us about it?

After immigration arrests, California lawmakers wonder: Are police telling the feds too much?

Citing fear of authoritarianism and invasive surveillance, California lawmakers voted this week to audit the operation of joint intelligence centers where federal, state, and local agencies share information.

The decision was made Tuesday along party lines by the Joint Committee on Legislative Audit, a 14-member body made up of members of the California Senate and Assembly. Nine members voted in favor, one against, and four did not vote. The audit will be conducted by State Auditor Grant Parks.

Advocacy groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Oakland Privacy urged lawmakers to demand the audit to rein in what they described as abuses at the facilities, known as fusion centers. They cited an incident in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly asked La Habra police to run searches on its behalf at an Orange County fusion center and several others in which San Francisco police circumvented a local ban on facial recognition by asking for help from a fusion center with access to the technology.

CalMatters investigations last year and last month found instances where local law enforcement agencies shared license plate information with ICE or the Border Patrol, violating state law. California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent letters to more than a dozen local law enforcement agencies since 2024 for potential violations of the state law banning it and sued the City of El Cajon for allegedly violating the ban.

See, they do not care a whit if the cops are sharing information with Los Federales on U.S. citizens who are, say, wanted fugitives, they care if the people are illegal aliens. And it’s somehow “authoritarianism” to alert Los Federales. I don’t remember it being “authoritarianism” when ICE and others were being told when Obama and Biden were in office. They never say why they consider it authoritarianism.

Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, a Democrat from Riverside, requested the audit. She believes that fusion centers have undermined state law that prohibits cooperation with federal law enforcement agencies for immigration purposes. A 2024 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project report cited in her audit petition alleges that a California fusion center routinely shares information with ICE. She also said the centers put at risk the privacy of Californians more broadly, particularly given what she describes as the slide of the federal government into authoritarianism.

Federal law takes presedence over state law on immigration matters, and, the state of California’s, the counties, and local police all receive federal money. Stop taking it and maybe you’ll have a leg to stand on.

Meanwhile

Santa Fe has short time to spend housing funds after immigration fight with feds

Six local nonprofits have a shrinking window of time to spend federal funds meant to help reduce Santa Fe’s severe housing problems.

The funding must be spent by the end of the federal fiscal year in September, but with just six months remaining, the nonprofits are still waiting for the city, which administers the federal program, to allocate the money.

The money was specifically stated to not be used for illegals, but, of course, a judge said that was mean. So, now, Santa Fe has a severe housing problem because there are too many illegals, making it difficult for the Americans who live there, raising the cost of things like rent.