Now that Barack Obama’s farewell speech is over, and there is less that 10 days until the inauguration, speculation is beginning about the actions that Donald Trump will take in his first 100 days in office.

Doubtless, immigration will be on the top of his task list. Alan Gomez, immigration reporter for USA Today, notes that Trump will have broad presidential powers in dealing with “sanctuary cities”.

Trump will be armed with a range of powerful options, including federal lawsuits and the power to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in grants that states and cities rely on. “The Trump administration can largely get the results it is seeking and a real meaningful end to most of these sanctuary policies through a combination of carrots and sticks,” said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, who has advised the Trump transition team on its immigration enforcement options. “The point is not to go around whacking all these little cities and counties, it’s to get them to do the right thing. And for the die-hards, to confront them.”

While there are many cities that would make tempting targets, I would like to propose he start with Los Angeles. To begin with, the area is filled with smug, anti-Trump elites like Meryl Streep.

However, beyond that, city officials just created a $10 million fund of taxpayer dollars to defend those identified for deportation during the anticipated crackdown on illegal immigration.

If approved by lawmakers, Los Angeles’ two top government agencies could find themselves in the position of using public funds to challenge policies sought by the White House and Republican Congress. The fund represents another provocative pushback against the Trump agenda in heavily Democratic California, but outside legal experts said the local government agencies are likely within their right to use the money for these purposes. Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer said the fund will ensure that there is “more fairness and more effectiveness in the immigration system.” He cited statistics showing that immigrants who have representation have a better chance at succeeding in court.

This move comes as the city is short millions of dollars in legal costs, and will have to borrow $70 million to meet expenses.

[A] surge in legal settlements, along with court judgments against the city, is outpacing the city’s ability to keep up. With payouts projected to total at least $135 million this fiscal year, budget officials said Monday that the city needs to immediately borrow up to $70 million to avoid dipping into its emergency reserve fund.

Trump should unleash the full force of federal fury on this city, which is clearly in no fiscal condition for the upcoming battle.

Additionally, he would be doing the rest of the state a favor. The California Policy Center estimates that California state and local governments owe $1.3 trillion as of June 30, 2015, and Governor Jerry Brown just submitted a record-setting state budget. One of our small towns has defaulted on its pension debt.

Between paying for the legal costs of illegal immigrants, and the sex change operation for murderers, it is obvious that neither our state or local politicians can’t and won’t spend our money responsibly.

So, on January 21st, Trump should initiate a robust response to the threats and antics that California politicians have engaged in since his election by targeting Los Angeles first when addressing the nation’s sanctuary city problems. I suspect the rest of the nation will appreciate it…and it’s not like losing California is going to cost him the 2020 election, either.



