California AG Asks Residents To Report State Agencies That Assist Immigration Authorities

Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

State Attorney General Rob Bonta requested Dec. 4 that Californians report to his office any violations of state laws that limit state institutions, agencies, and local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement actions.

Senate Bill 54—passed in 2017 and known as the California Values Act—blocks state and local agencies from using resources to assist immigration enforcement by arresting, detaining, detecting, interrogating, or investigating individuals suspected of entering the country illegally.

The appeal came in an announcement that courts, health care facilities, libraries, and other public institutions in California were advised to craft policies meant to make it more difficult for federal law enforcement authorities to deport illegal immigrants.

Such advisement is in response to comments made by President-elect Donald Trump during his campaign and after the election that deportations will be a prime component of his national security policies, according to the attorney general, and updates guidance first issued in 2018 during Trump’s first term.

“We will not allow safe spaces like libraries, hospitals, and courthouses to be co-opted and commandeered for [Trump’s] inhumane immigration agenda,” Bonta said in a statement. “My office will continue to use the full force of the law and every tool at our disposal to protect the rights of California’s immigrants, and we need staff at these critical locations to do the same.”

He said fear of immigration enforcement could harm the 1.8 million—as calculated by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center—illegal immigrants residing in California.

“We cannot let the Trump deportation machine create a culture of fear and mistrust that prevents immigrants from accessing vital public services,” Bonta said.

State courts, public schools, and publicly funded health care facilities are required by law to follow the order and craft policies in line with the attorney general’s guidelines. All other institutions are encouraged to comply.

According to the guidance, cooperation between federal immigration officers and state institutions is problematic because it “diverts state resources, blurs lines of accountability, and threatens trust between immigrant communities and state and local agencies that provide critical public services.”

Courts are advised to create policies that limit support for federal immigration actions by prohibiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from entering certain areas of facilities unless they present court warrants.

Customs agency warrants can be ignored, according to the attorney general’s guidance, because they do not carry the authority of a court warrant, and state law prohibits local agencies from consenting to immigration officers’ search requests.

The use of pseudonyms is also suggested to shield victims, witnesses, and other individuals from potential enforcement action.

Additionally, courts are prompted to minimize in-person appearances and to consider not penalizing individuals who fail to appear due to fear of immigration authorities.

All institutions are advised to prohibit the disclosure of information that could reveal an individual’s illegal immigrant status.

Policies should defer requests from federal authorities to legal counsel or administrators, and all instances should be documented, according to the guidelines.

Staff should receive training about how to respond to immigration enforcement requests and should direct individuals who access services to privacy rights information, according to the attorney general’s orders.

Trump’s choice for border czar, Tom Homan, recently warned state officials against interfering with the federal government.

“I’m sending a message to those people who said they’re going to get in our way … don’t cross that line,” Homan said during a press conference at the border with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Nov. 26. “It is a felony to knowingly harbor an illegal alien from an immigration authority. Don’t test us.”

He said plans are underway to deport millions of illegal immigrants.

“Let me be clear. There is going to be a mass deportation because we just finished a mass illegal immigration crisis,” Homan said. “If you let them stay, you’ll never fix the border. This is a nation of laws, and we’re going to enforce those laws.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a Dec. 5 press conference at the border in San Diego County that the state does not interfere with the federal government using its own resources to enforce federal laws and cooperates “in many cases.”

He expressed concern about possible widespread deportations because about half of farmworkers in California entered the country illegally, according to the governor.

“The impacts of mass deportation on the cost of food in this state and this nation are off the charts,” Newsom said. “This is serious business.”

The president-elect’s transition team said his wide margin of victory is evidence the American people want him to prioritize his agenda of securing the border and bolstering public safety.

“President Trump will marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation of illegal criminals, drug dealers, and human traffickers in American history while simultaneously lowering costs for families,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance transition spokesperson, told The Epoch Times by email on Nov. 27.

“The American people reelected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail, like deporting migrant criminals and restoring our economic greatness. He will deliver.”