On Saturday, lawmakers in California passed a so-called sanctuary state bill to protect undocumented immigrants as part of a wider push by the Democratic Party to counter the Trump administration’s expansion of deportation orders. Senator Kevin de Leon’s legislation is the most extensive in the US, limiting communication by local and state law enforcement organizations with federal immigration officials, and preventing suspects from being questioned by police officers or held for immigration violations.
Senate Bill 54 was approved by a 27-11 vote, split along party lines, after a passionate debate in the Legislature and fierce opposition from Republican Sheriffs, as well as warnings of reprisals from officials in the Trump administration. The bill eventually sent to Governor Jerry Brown was dramatically scaled back from the original version, after weeks of negotiation between de Leon and the Governor.
The approval of the bill came hours after a Chicago federal judge blocked the attempt by the Trump administration to withhold grant funds from the Justice Department to discourage sanctuary cities. De Leon called the changes reasonable, saying they do not alter the primary purpose of the measure, which is to protect hardworking immigrant families.
The amendments enable federal immigration authorities to continue working with officials in state corrections, and to question suspected undocumented immigrants in county jails, as well as permitting the sharing of information and transferring of some individuals with particular criminal convictions. But, the acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Thomas Homan, slammed the bill as making communities in California less safe.