Less immigration enforcement urged

State Senate wants policy on ‘sensitive locations’ honored.

SACRAMENTO — The state Senate adopted a resolution Monday calling on President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly to honor a 2011 policy that prohibits federal agents from enforcing immigration laws at “sensitive locations,” such as schools, hospitals, churches and marches.

Senate leader Kevin de León said he introduced the proposal to support refugees and immigrants in the U.S. illegally in communities racked by fear as the Trump administration has expanded the number of people it seeks to deport. It passed by a 29-9 vote.

In an hourlong debate, Republican lawmakers railed against immigrants with criminal records, saying policies like the one cited in the resolution were opening the doors to rapists, drug traffickers and killers.

Sen. Jeff Stone (R-Murrieta) argued that the proposal fueled divisive rhetoric, saying, “It seems we are here for the weekly ‘Dump on President Trump hour.’ ”

Other GOP Senate members called for “proactive” actions such as addressing comprehensive immigration reform or sending a delegation to Washington.

But Democratic lawmakers said the bill was an appropriate answer to strict enforcement policies that have been sweeping up families and crime victims seeking to work with police. “I want to take care of women, families, communities, and I think we can do this in a rational way,” Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) said.

John Morton, then-director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, first issued a policy against immigration enforcement at sensitive locations in 2011. In Kelly’s memo in February, the state resolution states, he does not contradict or repeal Morton’s policy.

But reports of increased immigration enforcement at these sites have surfaced nationwide. Federal officials have reportedly detained people at a church homeless shelter in Virginia, a domestic violence survivor at a Texas courthouse and a father dropping off his daughter at school in Los Angeles.

De León said parents have stopped letting children go to school and families are not seeking medical help or social services, while domestic violence victims have stopped pursuing cases against their offenders. “The question is: Is our country safer?” he said.