San Diego Minutemen Adopt-a-Highway!

The immigration crisis had made headlines this last couple of weeks, but frankly the news that the Minutemen won their federal court case to Adopt-a-Highway along San Diego's stretch of Interstate-5 is a kicker:

An anti-illegal-immigration group's Adopt-a-Highway sign was re-posted this week on Interstate 5 near the Border Patrol checkpoint in San Clemente after a federal judge ruled that it did not pose a danger to the public.

State transit officials had moved the San Diego Minutemen's sign to a less-busy highway in eastern San Diego County, saying they were concerned that it would become a gathering place for protesters and clog the busy interstate.

The Adopt-a-Highway program "is not a forum for advertising or public discourse," Caltrans officials said on the agency's website.

The Minutemen sued in federal court, saying that the sign's removal violated the organization's right to free speech. A judge ruled last month that the sign did not pose a danger to the public and should be re-posted. It had been moved to a stretch of California 52.

"We are all thrilled to see our Adopt-a-Highway recognition sign back up, standing more proudly than ever," the group's founder, Jeff Schwilk, said in a statement posted on its website. "The U.S. Constitution has thankfully trumped the lies and coercion of the illegal alien activists. . . . Thank you to Americans nationwide who helped us win this critical legal fight for our rights and to have our message heard by all America!"

I doubt San Francisco's getting the message.

As Cinnamon Stillwell pointed out recently:

Under the city's 1989 voter-approved sanctuary ordinance, police officers and other city employees are prohibited from inquiring into immigration status. In addition, the city will not direct municipal funds or employees towards assisting federal immigration enforcement, unless such assistance is required by federal or state law or a warrant.

No doubt such protections warm the heart of the city's liberal leadership. But San Francisco's status as a sanctuary city is having unintended consequences.

The brutal and senseless murder last month of Tony Bologna and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, at the hands of Edwin Ramos, a native of El Salvador and known member of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) street gang, was a reminder that inviting illegal activity can turn deadly. The Bolognas were on their way back from a family picnic when they inadvertently blocked Ramos' car from making a left turn in the Excelsior district. When Bologna politely backed up to let the other car past, Ramos responded by opening fire and killing all three passengers. Ramos has been charged with three counts of murder, with the added penalty of street-gang involvement....

While San Francisco's sanctuary city ordinance may have been well-intentioned, it has resulted in an untenable and anarchic situation that is taking its toll on city residents and surrounding counties alike. Providing sanctuary for law-breakers at the expense of law-abiding citizens is neither a compassionate nor a moral approach.

That's well said.

There's more on this at Neptunus Lex and Wake Up America!

Photo Credit: Los Angeles Times