California moves to become first ‘sanctuary state’ for immigrants
A 42-year-old immigrant was on her way to church in Mendota, a small city in California’s Central Valley, one afternoon last month when police stopped her because the tinted windows on her 2006 Nissan were too dark. What happened next says much about the growing conflict between states like California and the Trump administration.
After inspecting her license, the police officer returned to the car and asked the woman, a mother of two, whether she knew a deportation order had been issued against her. Yes, she replied, she was supposed to appear in front of an immigration judge in Texas nearly 15 years ago, but had no way of getting there.
After several minutes, the officer released her, but not before calling federal immigration authorities. The police officer informed her that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would come to her house. Fearing deportation to El Salvador, the woman did not return home — neighbors informed her that immigration officers appeared at her front door half an hour after she was pulled over — and she has not gone back since, one of her lawyers said.
For the Trump administration, that kind of assistance from local police officers has been common. For California lawmakers, it is the clearest evidence yet of the need to strictly curb communication between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials.
With the federal government vastly expanding who is considered a priority for deportation, the California state Senate approved a bill last week that increased protections for immigrants. The measure prohibits local law enforcement agencies from using resources to investigate, detain, report or arrest people for immigration violations.
Supporters say the law — essentially making California the country’s first “sanctuary state” — would prevent immigrants like the woman in Mendota, who faced no criminal charges, from being turned over for deportation. If approved, the law could directly contradict federal directives, putting local law enforcement agencies in the difficult position of deciding whether to obey Sacramento or Washington. Legal battles are considered likely.
“The federal government is going to have to step in and decide if this is worth a lawsuit, because I am not sure what we can do,” said Donny Youngblood, the sheriff in Kern County and the president of the California State Sheriffs’ Association, which is lobbying against the measure. “All we are doing is providing information to the federal government so that they can do their job. To restrict that doesn’t make sense.”
While California is moving more decisively and quickly than any other state, bills that restrict cooperation with immigration officials have been introduced in several legislatures throughout the country, including in Illinois, Maryland, Nevada and New York.