2 San Diego Politicians Meet With President for ‘Sanctuary' Policy Discussion

Two San Diego County politicians were among more than a dozen California officials who met with President Donald Trump Wednesday for a roundtable discussion about California’s immigration policies.

The President invited San Diego County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar and Escondido Mayor Sam Abed to meet with him, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

Abed told the president he was committed to creating a PAC to fight the California Values Act or Senate Bill 54, a law passed last year designed to protect undocumented people in the state. Some say the law makes California a "sanctuary" for immigrants.

When asked by the president to report on how the proposed border wall construction was going, Gaspar smiled and answered, "It's going." 

NBC 7 has reported the only current construction along the U.S.-Mexico border is replacement fence. 

The Republican politicians represent local governments that recently decided to support a Department of Justice lawsuit against the state of California.

The California Values Act took effect on January 1 and prohibits local law enforcement officials throughout the state from asking about immigration status. It also bars local authorities from holding undocumented immigrants in jails until federal authorities can pick them up.

Trump administration lawyers are arguing that California can't make a law impeding immigration enforcement, and the council's vote is a show of support for that argument.

The Escondido City Council voted 4-1 in favor of supporting the lawsuit on April 5.

Gaspar voted to join the lawsuit on April 18, along with supervisors Bill Horn and Dianne Jacob. Supervisor John Cox dissented and Supervisor Ron Roberts was absent from the vote.

Both Gaspar and Jacob repeatedly said the decision was based on maintaining public safety and keeping criminals out of the region.

The trip to Washington, D.C. comes a day after the San Diego City Council voted 5-2 to join an amicus brief opposing the Trump administration’s lawsuit against so-called sanctuary city laws.