California officials build wall of resistance to Trump's immigration scheme and more

One place Democrats are in total control is in California, where elected officials are presenting a united front of resistance to Donald Trump, starting with immigration. As the state legislature kicked off its new session Monday, Democratic lawmakers put forth a mix of symbolic statements and substantive bills seeking to shield the state's undocumented immigrants from Trump's policies, whatever they may turn out to be. Mollie Reilly writes:

In a press conference, Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), the state senate president pro tempore, and Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount), the state assembly speaker, announced that both chambers of the legislature ― which now have Democratic supermajorities ― passed identical resolutions calling on Trump to abandon his campaign promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.  [...]

The lawmakers also announced the introduction of two bills to help undocumented immigrants if Trump pursues his aggressive deportation plan. SB 6, authored by state Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego), would establish a legal aid fund for people facing deportation. (A similar program is also under consideration in New York.) AB 3, authored by Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), would set up training centers to educate legal workers on immigration law. 

In 2013, the Public Policy Institute of California found 2.67 million undocumented immigrants resided in the state, and a 2014 study from the California Immigrant Policy Center put their contribution to the state's GDP at $130 billion annually.

The opening salvo from the state legislature is just one part of a multi-pronged effort by Democrats to inoculate the state from Trump. Rep. Xavier Becerra, soon to be the Golden State's attorney general, has practically dared the federal government to mess with a progressive state responsible for the biggest GDP in the nation—$2.44 trillion in 2015, nearly a trillion dollars more than the state with the second largest GDP, Texas. Gov. Jerry Brown has also promised a fierce defense of California values. 

"We will protect the precious rights of our people and continue to confront the existential threat of our time — devastating climate change," he said.

Similarly, the University of California system, under President Janet Napolitano, has said it will not help federal immigration authorities track undocumented students in any way.

In short, California is flipping Trump the bird.