A fake sign labeling Malibu as a sanctuary city and comparing the affluent community to Boyle Heights has been removed from the Pacific Coast Highway.
The sign read “Official Sanctuary City. Cheap nannies and gardeners make Malibu great! (Boyle Heights not so much.)” The official seals of Malibu and California were on the sign and it was bolted up to the city’s highway marker.
Malibu officials tell the Los Angeles Times that the sign was put up as a prank and is not an official city sign. Malibu City Council recently voted 3 to 2 to make Malibu a sanctuary city amid federal immigration sweeps.
The discussion on whether or not to make Malibu a sanctuary city was a contentious one both among residents and city officials, the LA Times reports. The move was was criticized as being a symbolic one that would cost the beachside community their federal funding. Supporters say that the predominately white city owes their comfortable living in part to the hard work of immigrant laborers.
In contrast, Boyle Heights is a predominately Latino working class neighborhood with a strong immigrant background and culture. The “make Malibu great,” phrase in the fake sign is similar wording to President Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America great again,” when he was running for office. Several protests in Boyle Heights have targeted President Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric and policies both before and after he entered the White House.
Boyle Heights, however, is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles –which has not officially declared itself as a sanctuary city.
Malibu Mayor Pro Tem Skylar Peak tells the Los Angeles Times that the dig at Boyle Heights was in poor taste. “To make a derogatory comment about that place is very childish and inappropriate. I’m embarrassed by that.”
Image above from @Rockprincess818 on Twitter.
