California immigration law has come into focus recently following a controversial decision by lawmakers to introduce what is now referred to as a “sanctuary state” or state protection for undocumented immigrants. The law is meant to shield immigrants from a process that could inevitably lead to deportation and it may cause complications between state and federal law agencies when handling cases of immigration.

A Closer Look at California’s Immigration Law

Law enforcement agencies in California have certain limitations when handling immigrants. The law currently prohibits the following:

a. Issuing a hold request to detain an individual without a warrant or felony;
b. Holding an undocumented immigrant in a federal prison – this is only allowed in cases where the same individual has been convicted of a crime that falls under the California Crimes Act.
c. Requesting information about an individual’s legal status or sharing this information with other authorities – this is only allowed when running a multi-agency operation.

Bear in mind that a parallel federal program exists to gather information (including fingerprints) on any person arrested and this information is used in a subsequent database search that also checks the person’s immigration status.

What New Changes Does the New “Sanctuary State” Law Bring?

The new law introduces additional processes for state and federal authorities when handling immigration cases. On one hand, it creates a barrier and slows down inter-agency cooperation; but it also establishes a guideline for cases that require multi-agency cooperation.

It’s important to note that not all immigrants are protected by this new law. Individuals who’ve been convicted of certain crimes will not be safe from possible deportation if their cases are on the spot. People who have been convicted of offenses such as violent crimes have little chance to fight deportation if such a process were initiated against them.

What Does This Mean for Immigrants Living in California?

In the meantime, federal agents can still conduct raids and arrest suspected immigrants, and federal agencies are still free to communicate with state agencies about individuals who are of interest or arrestees who are serving prison sentences while awaiting deportation. Legal immigrants have been given what is considered the most widespread state protections in the country.

Generally speaking, immigration law is covered by the federal jurisdiction; however, state laws do offer protections for immigrants living in California. This is why the state is considered a sanctuary for immigrants, even though this goes against federal policies. The Trump administration has already filed a lawsuit against the state challenging this new legislation as it contradicts the federal government’s plan to tighten up on existing immigration laws.

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The lawmakers of the California state have recently passed three new laws of immigration in December 2017 which will be effective from January 1, 2018. These new immigration laws include:

Law 1: California has a status of Sanctuary State

According to this new law any law enforcement agency, local as well as state-run, cannot use means to detain any immigrant on the basis of the immigration laws of Federal government. In other words, these agencies can neither take someone on hold nor can question the immigration status of any immigrant on the request of Immigration and Customs Enforcement department of USA.

Law 2: Landlords are not allowed to report to ICE regarding their tenants

This law has been passed separately with an intention to restrain the landlords from reporting about the immigration status of their tenants to ICE. Moreover, the landlords are also not allowed to pressurize their tenants for eviction on the basis of their citizenship status.

Law 3: The inspections during workplace immigration will also be restricted.

This law restrains the employers from accepting unwarranted workplace inspections by ICE. In addition to it the employer has to inform the employee about the federal inspection notice within 72 hours of receiving it.

Expected implications of these new immigration laws in California

These laws were among several other bills passed by California government to prevent the effect of the policies of the administration of President Donald Trump.

By making California a Sanctuary state through these laws, police will not be able to ask about the status of immigration of an individual or be part of any immigration enforcement activity under the federal law. The jail officials are also guided by this law about the transfer of jail inmates to the authorities of federal immigration department only if they have been found guilty of the crimes of a particular type.

Moreover, the officials of immigration department must have a warrant before accessing the records of the employees and the workplace. Along with it, landlords are also banned to disclose the citizenship of their tenants. Even the officials of universities will be prohibited under one more new law for helping the officers of the ICE department.

The law enforcement officials will also be barred under another bill from keeping a witness or victim of a crime on hold or handing them over to authorities of immigration department without any warrant only because an immigration violation is suspected or actually done.

Photo Credit: cgstock / Shutterstock.com

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