LOS ANGELES – Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of five bills on Saturday that restrict the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts in California.
What we know:
The new laws include measures to regulate law enforcement agents and to protect immigrants’ rights.
These are the bills signed by Newsom today:
- Assembly Bill 49 by Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) — School sites: immigration enforcement.
- Senate Bill 81 by Jesse Arreguín (D-Berkeley) — Health and care facilities: information sharing.
- Senate Bill 98 by Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) — Elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education: immigration enforcement: notification.
- Senate Bill 627 by Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) — Law enforcement: masks.
- Senate Bill 805 by Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) — Crimes.
The bills include SB 627, a ban on law enforcement agents wearing masks, SB 805, a requirement that they visibly display identification, and a prohibition against bail fugitive recovery agents from using their position for immigration enforcement.
Two of the bills are specifically focused on public schools. SB 98 requires K-12 schools and higher education institutions to notify parents, students and staff when immigration enforcement is confirmed on campus, and AB 49 requires enforcement officers to obtain a valid judicial warrant and meet other requirements before entering a school or facility. It also prevents school officials from collecting immigration information and prohibits them from disclosing pupil or family information to immigration authorities without a warrant or court order.
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Other bills ban law enforcement agents from wearing masks or not visibly displaying identification, and they prohibit bail fugitive recovery agents from engaging in immigration enforcement.
Four of the bills are effective immediately, while the masking law will take effect in January.
What they’re saying:
Governor Newsom, Mayor Karen Bass, and LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho all spoke at the signing ceremony in downtown Los Angeles.
Newsom stated, “we’re here in Los Angeles, the most diverse city in the most diverse state, California, in the world’s most diverse democracy. It is a point of pride. . . at our best we don’t tolerate that diversity, at our best we celebrate that diversity.”
He added that the state’s pluralism is “under assault by this administration.”
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Mayor Bass noted that the bills were necessary “to protect Angelenos from our own federal government,” calling the situation “profound.”
Carvalho mentioned that LAUSD has already taken steps to prepare for immigration enforcement, including providing students with information packets on how to deal with federal agents and creating “zones of protection” on campus.
He said, “there are no sidewalks for immigrant children and sidewalks for everybody else. Everybody walks the same sidewalk of hope and opportunity to our school.”
The other side:
Asked for a comment on Saturday’s signing ceremony, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson sent the following reply to City News Service:
“Did Newscum explain why he issued a threat to (Homeland Security) Secretary Noem on the same weekend of Charlie Kirk’s funeral, who was just assassinated in a disgusting act of political violence? Was that post from Newscum or the deranged leftists running his account?”
White House border czar Tom Homan appeared on “Real Time with Bill Maher” and spoke about the issue, stating, “illegal immigration is not a victimless crime. . . if you send a message that there’s no consequences and you want to reward illegal behavior, [it’s] not going to stop.”
He added that those in the country illegally “cheated the system” and “overwhelmed the immigration court system,” causing delays for those trying to immigrate legally.
RELATED COVERAGE: ICE to ‘ramp up’ immigration raids in LA, other ‘sanctuary cities,’ border czar says
The backstory:
The legislation comes in response to immigration raids that began in the region in June. California Democrats have criticized the raids, claiming agents are targeting individuals based on race and detaining people without due process.
They also argue that the raids have not focused on undocumented immigrants with violent criminal histories, as the administration had promised.
RELATED COVERAGE: Man shot at by ICE agent during California standoff in custody, family says
In response, officials with the Department of Homeland Security have released the alleged criminal histories of many of the detained immigrants.
The Source: The information in this report comes from direct quotes and actions taken by key officials, including Governor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho at a public signing ceremony in downtown Los Angeles. The article also cites comments from White House border czar Tom Homan on the television show “Real Time with Bill Maher” and includes information released by the Department of Homeland Security about the criminal histories of detained immigrants. City News Service contributed.
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