{"id":13053,"date":"2023-08-04T20:33:42","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T20:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=13053"},"modified":"2023-08-04T20:33:42","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T20:33:42","slug":"as-sanctuary-state-california-takes-deportation-fight-to-new-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=13053","title":{"rendered":"As Sanctuary State, California Takes Deportation Fight to New Level"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Tim Henderson<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As more states and counties take immigration policy into their own hands, California is stepping up its fight to protect unauthorized immigrants by not only refusing to detain immigrants slated for deportation, but now also by declining to tell federal immigration officials when they will be released from local jails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates say it\u2019s the next logical step in defying the Trump administration\u2019s expanding threats to deport more unauthorized immigrants. Such tactics have been tried in smaller jurisdictions \u2014 immigrant-friendly counties in Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Texas \u2014 but never by a whole state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California\u2019s new approach could have sweeping implications for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The state has the lion\u2019s share of unauthorized immigrants, and its action might prompt other states to defy the Trump administration\u2019s quest to deport more of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has targeted nearly a million people for deportation. The number of ICE requests to local officials asking them to delay the release of jailed immigrants so that they may be deported was up 75 percent this year, according to ICE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many states and counties already limit their cooperation with these requests, known as detainers, out of a desire to protect immigrants or because of legal concerns about being sued for civil rights violations<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than one-fifth of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States resides in California, making it fertile ground for ICE officers. Since the enforcement agency began keeping records in 2003, some 23 percent of the agency\u2019s detainers nationwide have been requested from California jails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The law that includes the policy shift, signed by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown earlier this month, also bars California cities and counties from helping ICE by investigating the immigration status of prisoners when they book them. Orange County was the lone California jurisdiction participating in the 287(g) program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheriffs, who run most of the state\u2019s jails, largely oppose the new law, according to California State Sheriffs\u2019 Association President Bill Brown. The law does not apply to immigrants who have committed serious crimes such as felonies and certain misdemeanors, but Brown would have liked exceptions for other crimes such as repeated driving while intoxicated or theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not about law-abiding immigrants,\u201d he said. \u201cFor the criminals, I don\u2019t know why we wouldn\u2019t want to take advantage of this opportunity to have that person removed from the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRestrictions on our ability to communicate with federal authorities will hinder collaborative efforts to remove serious offenders from our community,\u201d she said in a statement to Stateline<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trump administration\u2019s reaction to the new law was swift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas Homan, acting director of ICE, said it would create \u201canother magnet for more illegal immigration, all at the expense of the safety and security of the very people it purports to protect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new law will keep ICE from arresting deportable criminals in the relative safety of county and city jails, forcing the agency to pursue prisoners in their neighborhoods and workplaces, which could result in violence, Homan said in a statement<\/a> after the bill\u2019s signing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic state Sen. Kevin de Le\u00f3n of Los Angeles, the author of the new law, called Homan\u2019s reaction \u201cfearmongering\u201d and pledged that \u201cwe won\u2019t help them tear apart families and our economy in the process.\u201d De Leon recently announced that he will challenge longtime U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein in next year\u2019s Democratic primary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California is the first state to limit communication about release dates, but 142 counties have such policies<\/a>, according to a review by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, a national advocacy group based in San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California a Trailblazer<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The federal government has challenged some of those policies on release dates. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions this month accused Cook County and the city of Chicago in Illinois; New Orleans; New York City, and Philadelphia of violating federal law on cooperation<\/a>. He has not yet responded to California\u2019s new law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Detainers work by taking advantage of a system already in place. When prisoners are booked into local jails, typically run by city police or county sheriffs, their information is automatically sent to ICE, which checks fingerprints and other details to see whether the prisoner is an unauthorized immigrant wanted for deportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If so, ICE can ask local authorities to hold the prisoner for up to 48 hours to allow ICE to take custody. Alternatively ICE can ask for notification of the prisoner\u2019s release to facilitate an arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some states \u2014 Illinois, Connecticut, Vermont and Oregon \u2014 have statewide sanctuary legislation that limits cooperation on deportation, but stops short of California\u2019s unusual scope. Fifteen states considered bills on sanctuary policies<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And a Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling this year prohibits holding prisoners on immigration detainers alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other states have moved in the other direction. In Maine, where some state sanctuary policies were reversed in 2011<\/a> by Republican Gov. Paul LePage, the governor has threatened to remove sheriffs from office if they fail to honor detainers. Those seeking to stop sanctuary city policies and even force police to investigate immigration status include Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least 33 states have some legislation requiring police to cooperate<\/a> with immigration authorities, according to an April report from the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many places outside California, sanctuary city policies are meant to reassure immigrants but don\u2019t necessarily do more than restate existing laws allowing local police to leave immigration enforcement to the federal government, said Muzaffar Chishti, director of the Migration Policy Institute\u2019s office at New York University School of Law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Arizona, for instance, Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich concluded earlier this month that new policies<\/a> in Phoenix did not conflict with a state law banning sanctuary policies despite setting limits on immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supreme Court May Decide<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some local jails also have refused to give enough notice of release dates. Cook County, Illinois, home of Chicago, banned such communication in 2011<\/a>. Along with counties in California, counties in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Texas have withheld release dates, said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates decreased immigration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe sanctuary policies that prevent the communication or notification to ICE are deliberate efforts to thwart immigration enforcement,\u201d Vaughan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Supreme Court will likely decide whether policies like California\u2019s and Cook County\u2019s cross the line and violate federal law<\/a> requiring cooperation with federal authorities on immigration, Chishti said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sessions set an Oct. 27 deadline for Cook County, New York City, Philadelphia and other areas to justify their policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s asking them to say if they comply with the law,\u201d Chishti predicted. \u201cThey will come back and say \u2018yes, we do comply,\u2019 and then it will all end up at the Supreme Court.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tim Henderson<\/em><\/a> covers demographics for Pew Charitable<\/em> Trust<\/em> Stateline<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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