Are California's Sanctuary Laws Vulnerable in Court? Yes, Say Legal Experts.

California's three new "sanctuary" laws, challenged in court this week by the Trump administration, face different hurdles and have varying vulnerabilities, legal experts said Wednesday.

Law professors who read the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions generally described it as a credible challenge that presents complex legal questions that might wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The arguments made by the Justice Department are not at all lightweight arguments," said Pepperdine law school professor Douglas W. Kmiec. "They are quite substantial."

The federal government has wide authority over matters of immigration, and Sessions has charged that California's new laws usurp or pre-empt federal rules.

The supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution says federal law takes precedence over state laws, and Sessions' suit accuses California's new regulations of violating that provision.

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