Church Paying the Price for Harboring Illegals

I've long been a critic of churches which have decided to defy federal law and declare themselves "sanctuaries" for illegal aliens. One church in Simi Valley, CA is finding that there's a price to pay for their lawlessness (h/t Laer):

The city of Simi Valley is sending a $40,000 invoice to the church that was the site of a weekend protest over its sheltering of an illegal immigrant.

The bill for $39,306 is the preliminary pricetag for police services at the protest Sunday at the United Church of Christ. The protest brought out about 125 anti-illegal immigration activists and counter-protestors.

The city wants the church to pay for services provided by the Simi Valley Police Department and mutual aid from the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.

Mayor Paul Miller told the council Monday night that he's ready to send out the bill to the church to recoup the cost. He called church members irresponsible for "harboring an illegal immigrant."

"This City Council has the obligation to protect all citizens in the community against any potential violence as a result of these ill-conceived actions," Miller said.

The protest was organized by an anti-illegal immigration group called Save Our State, who came with the hopes of making a citizen's arrest of an illegal immigrant, Liliana, and her infant son. The church has offered sanctuary to the family, and they have been living there for several weeks.

There was a small but loud group of counter protesters calling for amnesty and the end of deportation raids. Adding to the dynamic were about nine skinheads who tried to join the Save Our State group, but were rejected and then directed by police to their own section of sidewalk.

I hope the city enforces the billing. Willful violations of the the law need to be punished, and if it means the church's bank account takes a hit, so be it.