San Diego, USA, Mar 13 (EFE).- California’s officials united Tuesday against the criticisms made by the President of the United States, who visited California for the first time in office.
President Donald Trump Tuesday made a visit to San Diego, where he inspected the prototypes of the border wall with Mexico, and took the occasion to attack the leaders of the so-called “golden state” of California, whose policies have clashed with the current federal government in almost all political aspects, including immigration, health care and climate change.
“California’s sanctuary policies are illegal and unconstitutional and put the safety and security of our entire nation at risk,” Trump said in reference to the measures taken by Californian cities or counties not to collaborate with federal immigration authorities.
“They’re the best friend of the criminal. That’s what exactly is happening. The criminals take refuge in these sanctuary cities,” said Trump, who also accused the governor of California, Jerry Brown, of doing “a terrible job running the state of California.”
Brown responded to Trump’s remarks on his Twitter account that “bridges are still better than walls, and California remains the sixth largest economy in the world and the most prosperous state in America.”
For his part, Attorney General of California Xavier Becerra, who has recently led several lawsuits against federal policies, also spoke out on Twitter.
“Here in #California, we respect the Constitution and follow the law. As I’ve said many times, our state laws work in concert with federal laws,” Becerra said.
Earlier last week, the White House filed a complaint against California over its state immigration policies.
On Monday and Tuesday, San Diego and Los Angeles held several protests and demonstrations against Trump.
California has long been dominated by Democrats, as clearly seen in the 2016 Presidential Elections, when Hillary Clinton, Democrat candidate to the White House, won four million votes more than her Republican rival in California.