Anti-Immigrant Signs Pop Up On California Highways As State Becomes A Sanctuary

Sarah Ruiz-Grossman
Updated

As California officially became a “sanctuary state” at the start of the new year, fake signs with anti-immigrant messages appeared near the state’s borders.

“Official sanctuary state. Felons, Illegals and MS13 Welcome!” the signs read. “Democrats Need The Votes!”

The messages had been papered over existing signs, California Department of Transportation spokesman Mark Dinger told HuffPost on Wednesday.

They referred to a new law, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) in October and effective Jan. 1, that limits local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration officials and prohibits police from generally inquiring into people’s immigration status. The California Values Act does not, however, bar police from working with immigration officials in the cases of people convicted of a wide range of felonies.

The signs suggested that undocumented immigrants are dangerous criminals.

Conservative leaders, including President Donald Trump, have repeatedly and falsely portrayed immigrants as more likely to commit criminal acts. Trump and others have pointed to MS-13 ― a gang started in Los Angeles that spread to other U.S. cities and to Central America ― as a reason for stronger immigration enforcement.

Five of the prank signs were reported around the state, but Caltrans employees have found and taken down only two, spokesman Dinger said. One on I-15 near the Nevada border was removed on Monday, and another on I-40 near the Arizona border came down Tuesday. Caltrans was not able to locate at least three other signs reported near the Oregon and Arizona borders.

Caltrans did not know who was behind the signs, Dinger said, and would not be investigating the incident as it is not a law enforcement agency.

Photos of the signs were circulated largely by conservative accounts on Twitter, with former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin tweeting about them and other apparent opponents of the sanctuary law appearing amused by the prank.

There are an estimated 2.3 million undocumented immigrants in California. Before the statewide law went into effect, several major cities there, including San Francisco, already had their own sanctuary policies.

Critics of sanctuary laws, including anti-immigration hard-liners like Trump, argue that limiting local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration officials makes cities more dangerous. Supporters say that sanctuary laws make communities safer by encouraging undocumented residents to trust and cooperate with local police.

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April 2015

At an event hosted by Texas Patriots PAC: “Everything’s coming across the border: the illegals, the cars, the whole thing. It’s like a big mess. Blah. It’s like vomit.”
At an event hosted by Texas Patriots PAC: “Everything’s coming across the border: the illegals, the cars, the whole thing. It’s like a big mess. Blah. It’s like vomit.”

June 2015

At a speech announcing his campaign: "When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

August 2015

On NBC's "Meet the Press": “We’re going to keep the families together, we have to keep the families together, but they have to go." 
On NBC's "Meet the Press": “We’re going to keep the families together, we have to keep the families together, but they have to go." 

September 2015

On CBS's "60 Minutes": “We’re rounding ‘em up in a very humane way, in a very nice way. And they’re going to be happy because they want to be legalized. And, by the way, I know it doesn’t sound nice. But not everything is nice.”
On CBS's "60 Minutes": “We’re rounding ‘em up in a very humane way, in a very nice way. And they’re going to be happy because they want to be legalized. And, by the way, I know it doesn’t sound nice. But not everything is nice.”

November 2015

On MSNBC's "Morning Joe": “You are going to have a deportation force, and you are going to do it humanely." 
On MSNBC's "Morning Joe": “You are going to have a deportation force, and you are going to do it humanely." 

February 2016

At a GOP primary debate: “We have at least 11 million people in this country that came in illegally. They will go out. They will come back ― some will come back, the best, through a process.”
At a GOP primary debate: “We have at least 11 million people in this country that came in illegally. They will go out. They will come back ― some will come back, the best, through a process.”

March 2016

At a press conference when asked if he would consider allowing undocumented immigrants to stay: "We either have a country or we don’t. We either have a country or we don’t. We have borders or we don’t have borders. And at this moment, the answer is absolutely not.”
At a press conference when asked if he would consider allowing undocumented immigrants to stay: "We either have a country or we don’t. We either have a country or we don’t. We have borders or we don’t have borders. And at this moment, the answer is absolutely not.”

April 2016

At an event hosted by NBC's "Today Show": “They’re going to go, and we’re going to create a path where we can get them into this country legally, OK? But it has to be done legally. ... They’re going to go, and then come back and come back legally.”
At an event hosted by NBC's "Today Show": “They’re going to go, and we’re going to create a path where we can get them into this country legally, OK? But it has to be done legally. ... They’re going to go, and then come back and come back legally.”

July 2016

At the Republican National Convention: "Tonight, I want every American whose demands for immigration security have been denied ― and every politician who has denied them ― to listen very closely to the words I am about to say. On January 21st of 2017, the day after I take the oath of office, Americans will finally wake up in a country where the laws of the United States are enforced."

September 2016

At a rally: “Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation. That is what it means to have laws and to have a country. Otherwise we don’t have a country.”
At a rally: “Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation. That is what it means to have laws and to have a country. Otherwise we don’t have a country.”

September 2016

On "The Dr. Oz Show": “Well, under my plan the undocumented or, as you would say, illegal immigrant wouldn’t be in the country. They only come in the country legally.”
On "The Dr. Oz Show": “Well, under my plan the undocumented or, as you would say, illegal immigrant wouldn’t be in the country. They only come in the country legally.”

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.