SB 54 is known as the California Values Act or by its moniker as the Sanctuary State bill. This is the bill that impacts law enforcement and, according to the United States Department of Justice, allegedly interferes with the ability of federal immigration authorities to carry out their jobs.
State and local law enforcement are not allowed to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, or arrest people for immigration enforcement purposes. No agency money or personnel can be used for these purposes.
This would include but is not limited to, inquiring into an individual’s immigration status, detaining an individual based on a hold request, providing information regarding a person’s release date, or transferring an individual to immigration authorities unless allowed by a warrant. Law enforcement from these agencies is also prevented from participating in arrests based on civil immigration warrants and performing the functions of an immigration officer.
Regarding cooperation, law enforcement would still be able to provide information about a specific person’s criminal history and conduct enforcement duties as part of a joint task force, as long as the primary purpose of that task force is not immigration enforcement.
Law enforcement engaging in a task force may have to submit a report to the Department of Justice detailing the task force’s purpose, the agencies involved, the number of arrests made during the reporting period, and the number of people arrested for immigration enforcement purposes.
As detailed in SB 54, government officials are not restricted from sending information about the citizenship or immigration status of an individual or requesting immigration status information from federal immigration authorities or exchanging that information with other government entities.
Changes within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are reflected in the event of an interview between ICE and an individual in the department’s custody. The Department of Corrections must provide an individual with a written consent form explaining the purpose of the interview. It must also be explained that the interview is voluntary and that the individual may be interviewed with an attorney or may decline to be interviewed.
In passing the bill, the Legislature found and declared, as written in the bill text, that the importance and value of immigrants in California, the importance of a trusting relationship between immigrant communities and state and local agencies for public safety, and that state and local participation in federal immigration enforcement programs raises constitutional concerns.