Should California Declare itself a Sanctuary State?/ Con

California legislators are currently debating whether California should become a sanctuary state and not assist federal officials in deporting undocumented immigrants.

Many California college campuses such as UC Irvine and UC Berkeley have proposed adopting similar policies and declaring themselves sanctuary campuses.

Both of these initiatives bode nothing but trouble for all Californians and could make them targets for federal officials.

The idea of announcing that one is a sanctuary campus is nothing more than a statement, a statement that could result in more negative and unwarranted repercussions than positively intended outcomes for Fresno City College.

Given the nature of President Trump’s blatant opposition to undocumented immigrants, FCC could find itself losing federal funds as well as being cracked down on by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Perhaps some students would be fine if Trump were to cut off their federal aid, but what about students whose entire academic careers are dependent on federal aids like the Pell Grant.

Many of the undocumented students FCC would be hoping to provide sanctuary for could find themselves without the means to even go to school anymore.

ICE officials might even take exception to the sanctuary title and begin targeting students off campus like in the the case of Romulo Avelica-Gonzalez, who was arrested by ICE after dropping off his 12-year-old daughter at school.

Sanctuary laws may also be at risk of being exploited by less than reputable individuals seeking to evade justice.

Among the undocumented population of people in the US, there are after all some criminals whose crimes include racketeering, human or drug trafficking and murder.

While the criminal population may only be a small fraction of said population, this population has the potential to grow in sanctuary areas if they believe they have some form of protection against law enforcement officials like ICE.

It can also possibly be enough for people already jaded by the stigma of  undocumented people to create hysteria and trigger a worse backlash against undocumented people as a whole.

It’s already been seen through President Trump’s campaign that prejudice can influence people to believe the falsehood that the majority of undocumented immigrants are criminals.

If criminals are allowed to take advantage of sanctuary laws it is possible that people can begin to wonder if helping undocumented people is even beneficial to society.

Immigrants bring with them work ethics second to none and the drive to contribute to a society that they believe can help them escape the rough conditions they left.

However, it would be very easy to lose track of all the good immigrants bring if people get caught up in trying to make social statements that  have more potential for to do harm than good.