Efforts to thwart the sanctuary laws have energized California’s Republicans, who were long wary of taking a hardline stance towards immigration due to the state’s changing demographics.
"When the attorney general of the United States decides to take a firm position against it, I think that gave a signal to a lot of us that, 'Hey, California is on the wrong side of this thing,'" said Fred Whitaker, chairman of the Republican Party in Orange County.
"The mobilization that could come from introducing immigration debates into county political races may be a critical element in a year like 2018 when Democrats will likely be more mobilized than Republicans," said Louis DeSipio, a political science professor at the University of California, Irvine.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.