California lawmakers focus on immigration this session

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — The trickle of California legislation that began in January turned into a torrent over the past few days leading up to Friday's deadline to introduce bills for the year.

From regulating chatbots to the quality assurance of cannabis, hundreds of bills entered the legislative hopper. But there’s a theme in many of them: immigration.

Assembly Bill 1627 and Assembly Bill 1896 would restrict former ICE agents from getting certain jobs, like in law enforcement and teaching, in California.

“This bill is about protecting the public and restoring trust,” said Assemblymember Anamarie Ávila Farías, a Martinez Democrat and AB 1627's author, in a statement. “When Californians interact with a peace officer or a teacher, they deserve to know that person respects the Constitution, the dignity of every individual, and the limits of their power.”

Other bills would affect businesses dealing with federal immigration authorities, like Assembly Bill 1650, which would prohibit a rental company from renting vehicles to ICE.

Still others draw a line between federal and state powers. Senate Bill 1105 would ensure federal authorities couldn’t commandeer local law enforcement in actions that violate state law or people’s rights.

Written by state Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, the bill wouldn’t allow local officers to help federal agents racially profile people or use unauthorized military weapons against California residents.

“That is not who we are as Californians,” the Pasadena Democrat said in a statement. “SB 1105, the Protect California Rights Act, is about drawing a clear boundary. It is about saying California’s police officers will not be used as tools to carry out racial profiling and constitutional rights violations.” 

Senate President pro tempore Monique Limón, a Santa Barbara Democrat, told Courthouse News that the federal immigration raids have led to fear and injury across the Golden State. She noted that lawmakers last year provided $50 million to the state attorney general for potential litigation against the Trump administration.  

“The office is using those funds to demand transparency from ICE, roll back the use of the National Guard in our communities, and challenge the removal of birthright citizenship,” Limón said.

Sign of the times

It’s an issue that’s loomed over the nation as President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard to California and sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Minnesota, where two civilians were fatally shot last month.

Kristina Victor, an associate professor in Sacramento State University’s political science department, said the bills can serve as a signal to voters that lawmakers have heard them on a specific issue. All of them likely won’t become law, but that’s not the point, she opined.

“It’s meant to generate headlines, which it’s done,” Victor said.

The bills have varying chances of reaching Governor Gavin Newsom, who might not sign all of them. Lawmakers are eyeing the November election, and Newsom likely is thinking of a presidential run, Victor said. These Democrats want to differentiate themselves from Republicans, especially for voters who won’t tune into election season for months, and the bills serve that purpose, she said.

But James Adams, a professor in the political science department of UC Davis, worries that if California enacts laws like prohibition against former ICE agents having law enforcement or teaching jobs, then a state like Texas could pass a bill stopping a former San Francisco city worker from gaining employment in the Lone Star State.

“We live in a time where a lot of politicians’ political philosophies seems, when they go low, we go even lower,” he said.

Adams likened that possible domino-effect to the congressional redistricting effort many states have enacted.

Texas moved last year to add Republican-leaning congressional districts to its maps after Trump contacted Governor Greg Abbott and asked for five more seats. Newsom then pushed for, and won, a November election calling for new congressional maps in California that favor Democrats.

To Adams, that leads to a scenario where neither side has gained an advantage while voters grow more skeptical of their government.

There’s also the question of whether the immigration bills can pass muster in the courts. He questioned whether legislation like AB 1627 can legally target people once employed by a specific agency.

Concern over the constitutionality of certain bills is shared by Kimberly Nalder, a political science professor at Sacramento State. She said many people watched with horror at the Minnesota fatal shootings involving ICE agents, and the federal immigration sweeps last year in Los Angeles. She said legislators are reacting to that.

“It remains to be seen how measures like this will hold up in court,” Nalder added.

Under Newsom, California has positioned itself as an anti-Trump state. The state also has a high immigration rate and more first-generation immigrants than many other states, Nalder said.

That makes California a likely candidate to fight back against what’s perceived as federal overreach, she noted.

“We’re this counter-example to what we see at the federal level,” Nalder added.

Victor also questioned the need for legislation like AB 1627, questioning the number of former ICE agents who have the education required for policing and teaching jobs in California. She pointed to ICE lowering its own requirements as it ramped up its recruiting efforts last year.

“How many people would this actually impact?” she asked of the bill.

However, Victor said legislation like Assembly Bill 1537 did appear grounded in reality.

That bill, written by Los Angeles Democratic Assemblymember Issac Bryan, would prohibit local law enforcement officers from moonlighting for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or its contractors. An officer could face decertification as a peace officer for violating the provision.

The bill’s intent matches California’s stance as a sanctuary state, Victor said, and she thought Newsom would sign such a bill.

Lawmakers have filed hundreds of bills this year. Over the two-year legislative session, which ends this year, the Assembly filed over 2,300 bills. Senators filed over 1,200. They range from laws limiting the use of flashbang grenades to revoking commercial driver’s licenses based on immigration status to incentivizing hiring and retaining journalists throughout the state through an employment tax credit.