El Cajon, a city near the U.S.-Mexico border in California, has filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s sanctuary laws, escalating tensions over immigration policy. The city’s Republican Mayor Bill Wells announced the legal action following a recent vote by the El Cajon City Council to pursue litigation against California’s restrictions on local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

The lawsuit, filed in San Diego Superior Court by the America First Policy Institute on the city’s behalf, argues that state laws providing benefits to undocumented immigrants violate federal law. Citing a federal statute that criminalizes encouraging or inducing unauthorized aliens to enter or reside in the United States, the complaint claims that California’s sanctuary policies effectively amount to a felony offense.

Mayor Wells framed the lawsuit as a crucial moment in the city’s efforts to enforce immigration laws. “What law should our police officers follow? Should they follow the laws of the United States of America or should they follow the laws of the state of California?” he said at a news conference. Wells described the filing as a significant personal milestone and emphasized concerns that local law enforcement officials face potential federal criminal liability if they comply with the state’s sanctuary restrictions.

California’s sanctuary law, originally upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020, limits state and local agencies from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, including sharing information or detaining individuals solely on immigration-related issues. The new legal challenge seeks to revisit this framework by focusing on the alleged conflict between state policies and federal criminal statutes.

The America First Policy Institute, which filed the complaint, has ties to former Trump administration officials. Richard Lawson, who served in that administration, represents the group in the case.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta responded to the lawsuit by dismissing the claims as misleading. Bonta characterized the legal effort as another instance of what he called “endless attempts to lie and gaslight the public” on immigration enforcement.

The case marks an escalation in ongoing disputes between California’s government and certain cities along the border that argue state sanctuary laws hinder local law enforcement and public safety efforts. The outcome could have wider implications for the tension between state sanctuary policies and federal immigration enforcement mandates.