El Cajon's mayor lost a battle before the City Council as he sought to clear the way for local authorities to support federal deportation efforts.

El Concejo Municipal de El Cajon, dividido, rechazó el martes aprobar dos resoluciones contrapuestas sobre si la policía local debería asistir a las autoridades federales en la captura de inmigrantes indocumentados.

California’s “sanctuary law,” or SB 54, limits how and when local law enforcement agencies can help with the enforcement of federal immigration law.

Cheers erupted on Tuesday night after El Cajon city councilmembers voted 3-2, defeating Mayor Bill Wells’ resolution that would allow the police department to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

At the heart of the discussion was to what extent city police are legally able to assist immigration officials under Senate Bill 54, a California law that restricts the role local law enforcement can play in immigration enforcement but also has allowances for working with federal officers to address violent criminals.

The debate over the mass deportations is scheduled to take center stage Tuesday in El Cajon. The city is expected to vote on a resolution to support immigration crackdowns. However, the idea is facing backlash from some in the community.

A driver was arrested after San Diego Police said he crashed his car into a semi-truck that was parked on a Rolando street early Tuesday morning.

The El Cajon City Council voted down a resolution proposed by Mayor Bill Wells that declared the city's intent to support President Trump's deportation policies, which contradict California state laws limiting local government involvement in immigration activity.

Images of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids across the country and in San Diego have some migrants afraid to leave their homes.

California and many of its local governments, including Los Angeles and San Diego County, have taken a stand against deportations, passing resolutions to refuse cooperation with federal immigration agencies.

I felt so heartbroken, so helpless," said El Cajon resident Victoria, whose friend was taken for deportation over the weekend.

Council members rejected a resolution saying the city would support federal deportation efforts and also follow state law forbidding local police from cooperating with federal agents.