Advocates condemn some Sheriffs’ profound distortion of immigration law; CA can’t afford to let minority of officials “go rogue” on TRUST Act

August 28, 2012

August 28, 2012 – Today, a broad coalition of human rights advocates and legal experts condemned a statement made by the office of Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca Friday that the sheriff would defy the TRUST Act (AB 1081-Ammiano) if enacted, despite the fact that the bill is legally sound, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “hold” requests the bill limits are voluntary. Other Sheriffs, including Sheriff Freitas of Sonoma, Sheriff Gore of San Diego, and Sheriff Sniff of Riverside also suggested in comments to the Los Angeles times that they may take similar actions.

Today’s response comes after about 500 Californians from across the state rallied in Sacramento in support of the bill. It also comes as fresh statistics revealed the number of deportations under the controversial “Secure” Communities program in the state has now reached 80,000 – about 7 in 10 of whom either had no convictions or minor offenses.

In a joint statement, the groups, ACLU of California, Asian Law Caucus, California Immigrant Policy Center, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, DREAM Alliance of Sonoma County, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, MALDEF, San Francisco Organizing Project, and National Day Laborer Organizing Network, remarked:

“To be blunt, Sheriff Baca’s statement has zero relationship to reality.   It is crystal clear that ICE hold requests are just that – requests.  In one stunning statement, Sheriff Baca revealed both his fundamental misunderstanding of federal immigration law and his unwillingness to join the rest of us in a good faith policy discussion to reform our broken system.  In short, Sheriff Baca’s irresponsible statement  has proven the need for the TRUST Act.
The fact is, it is entirely within the legal authority of the state of California to limit how it responds to burdensome ICE hold requests. The sheriffs’ recent statements are further proof that immigration enforcement should remain the purview of the federal government.

And it is urgent for California to take action. Each month, thousands of parents, workers, and other Californians who aspire to be citizens are torn from their families due to the most trivial of arrests. They are trapped in our local jails for days, weeks or months after they would otherwise be released. This rogue group of Sheriffs- a vocal minority within the law enforcement community- falsely claims they have no discretion to stop these painful and costly practices.   They are wrong, and we are only left to speculate why they have pledged to defy California lawmakers.

There is too much at stake for California to allow them to poison the waters.  This illogical opposition proves the need for Governor Brown to sign the TRUST Act and return the state’s participation in the “Secure Communities” program back to its original intent.

Additional comments from prominent experts:

Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel, MALDEF: ”Any sheriff who fails to exercise discretion with respect to matters that are discretionary under the law engages in an ongoing dereliction of duty.  Treating ICE detainer requests as mandates is simply a failure to engage in the discretionary decisionmaking that is expected of government leaders.  It is far better for the state to establish policy on that discretion through the TRUST Act than for local law enforcement to be embroiled in individual immigration enforcement decisions.  Thus, while avoiding decisionmaking in this area may be desirable for sheriffs, that is only possible with state legislation.  Under current law without the TRUST Act, these sheriffs are harming the community and neglecting their responsibilities by treating as mandatory what is legally discretionary.  They are also exposing themselves to possible legal action and liability.”

Hector Villagra, Executive Director, ACLU of Southern California  “Secure Communities has shattered the relationship between law enforcement and the communities it’s supposed to protect. The TRUST Act restores that bond by stating clearly when local law enforcement should help with immigration enforcement – in cases of serious crimes – and when it shouldn’t. Sheriff Baca’s statements show ignorance both of how the TRUST Act works, and the limits of his own power.”

Background: The TRUST Act has captured national attention as a legally permissible alternative to neighboring Arizona’s extreme anti-immigrant measure, SB 1070. The bill would save local resources and rebuild community confidence in law enforcement by limiting limit unfair detentions for deportation purposes in local jails. Specifically, local law enforcement could only submit to burdensome – and optional – requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain individuals for extra time, at local expense, for deportation, if the individual has been charged or convicted of a serious or violent felony. That such requests are NOT mandatory is well established by the courts and federal regulations themselves.

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CA Assembly sends TRUST Act to Governor

August 24, 2012

Sacramento – The California Assembly passed AB 1081, the TRUST Act, 48-26 on concurrence today, sending the measure to the Governor for his signature. The Governor has until September 30 to sign the bill.

“This is a bill that speaks to humanity,” said Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, the bill’s author. “It prevents unjust treatment of productive Californians, while allowing local law enforcement to continue to focus on dangerous criminals. It will restore trust to people who have been subjected to the excesses of federal immigration authorities.”

“More than that, however, it restores California to the Secure Communities agreement that Gov. Jerry Brown signed when he was Attorney General. That agreement was to enable federal immigration authorities to focus on the dangerous people, not on the tamale vendors and innocent California workers. The votes in the Legislature represent the growing support for the TRUST Act among all Californians and should encourage the Governor to sign this and make it law.”

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez was joined by Assemblymembers Luis A. Alejo, Norma Torres, Das Williams, Gilbert Cedillo and Charles Calderon in speaking from the floor in support of the bill.

“I am proud to support Assemblymember Ammiano’s efforts to ensure every person, regardless of their immigration status, receive just treatment by law enforcement officials,” Speaker John A. Pérez said, after the vote. “We clearly need comprehensive immigration reform from the federal government, but in the meantime, we need to ensure that the men and women who are working in California and contributing to our economy are treated with dignity and respect by law enforcement, and I am proud to support Mr. Ammiano’s efforts on this important issue.”  

“This bill will restore trust among community members and law enforcement officials,” said Senator Kevin de Leόn, principal co-author.  “And it is precisely this trust that will strengthen the safety in our communities.”

AB 1081, also known as the TRUST ACT and sometimes as the anti-Arizona bill, would save local resources and aid community policing by curtailing excess use of local jails for civil immigration enforcement. Recent reports estimate the cost of immigration holds is as much as $65 million a year in California.

Under TRUST, local law enforcement would have clear guidelines on when not to submit to immigration holds from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while still allowing holds for those convicted of serious or violent felonies.

“With the passage of AB 1081, California has taken a major step toward ensuring that immigrant communities are able to continue to go about their normal lives without fear of being wrongfully detained for their immigration status,” said Assemblymember Mike Eng.

“The Trust Act will help ensure that innocent families are not split apart, and yet allows county jails to detain those who commit the most serious crimes,” said Assemblymember Luis A. Alejo.  “In California, the vast majority of persons deported so far under the Secure Communities federal program have been those who no criminal charges or with minor offenses.  AB 1081 is about keeping families together and amending the law to do what it was originally intended for.”

“The Trust Act sends the message that California will not tolerate the immigration abuses that have engendered fear and mistrust among families and individuals caught in the crosshairs of a broken immigration system,” said Assemblymember Nancy Skinner.

“I am proud to co-author AB 1081 and very pleased to see the measure heading to the Governor,” said Sen. Leland Yee. “The TRUST Act helps restore dignity to many people in our communities and will help alleviate some of the negative impacts they face as a result of poor federal immigration policies.”

Amendments were made to the bill in the Senate. The changes remove a requirement for counties to develop a specific plan to guard against racial profiling and other excesses. This was done to address concerns expressed by the state Sheriffs’ Association. The changes give additional discretion to local authorities, enabling them to submit to holds those who have been formally charged with a serious or violent felony.

It is referred to as the anti-Arizona, because, unlike Arizona law, it relieves the burden on local law enforcement to act on behalf of immigration authorities. The TRUST Act measure seeks to restore trust lost under the federal S-Comm program. Under S-Comm, ICE figures show, tens of thousands of Californians have been deported, even when they have not been convicted of a serious crime – sometimes when they have committed no crime or been victims of crimes.

The use of holds against productive Californians has, at times, led to hesitation to report crimes by those who fear deportation. As a result, the bill has had strong support – not just from rights organizations, but from a number of local police chiefs and mayors in California cities. Although the Sheriffs Association opposed the bill, even that group was not unified, as Ammiano pointed out during debate, mentioning support for the bill from the Sheriff of Santa Clara County.

Ammiano expressed thanks to those who spoke on the bill’s behalf, and to co-authors. Sen. Kevin de León was principal co-author. Other co-authors were Assembly Members, Luis A. Alejo, Susan A. Bonilla, Gilbert Cedillo, Mike Eng, William W. Monning, V. Manuel Pérez, Nancy Skinner and Mariko Yamada. They were joined by Senators Ron Calderon, Loni Hancock and Leland Yee.

The bill’s sponsors were the Asian Law Caucus, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and the California Immigrant Policy Center.

The bill is supported by the police chiefs of Oakland and Palo Alto, numerous mayors, and over a 100 civil rights and community-based organizations. In recent weeks, the TRUST Act has gained the support of the California State Democratic Party and various cities and local government leaders. Additionally, the highest governing body of the national Episcopal Church recently called for the halt of the “Secure” Communities Program.

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California Senate approves “Anti-Arizona” TRUST Act

July 5, 2012

SACRAMENTO – Today, the State Senate approved AB 1081 (Ammiano), California’s TRUST Act, by a vote of 21-13. Floor manager Senator Kevin de Leόn (D – Los Angeles) presented the bill on the Senate floor.

The TRUST Act would create a national model to counter the racial profiling inherent in the one section of Arizona’s anti-immigrant law which the Supreme Court did not strike down last week.  Section 2b of Arizona’s SB 1070 requires police to investigate immigration status based on ‘reasonable suspicion,’ while the TRUST Act would create plans to guard against racial profiling.

“Today’s vote signals to the nation that California cannot afford to be another Arizona,” said Ammiano. “The bill also limits unjust and onerous detentions for deportation in local jails of community members who do not pose a threat to public safety” he added.

The TRUST Act was originally drafted as a response to the federal “Secure” Communities or S-Comm deportation program which was described as a parallel to SB1070 sec2b in the Supreme Court case and has been responsible for deporting over 72,000 Californians. 7 in 10 of those deported under S-Comm in the state were deported with either no conviction or for minor offenses. In the worst instances, S-Comm is responsible for placing victims of domestic violence in deportation proceedings and deterring parents from reporting crimes committed against their children.

“We have made key progress today,” said Senator Kevin de Leόn. “This important measure is crucial to keep our communities safe. By promoting trust between immigrants and local law enforcement we ensure that victims of domestic violence and other crimes are not afraid to seek justice.”

Specifically, the TRUST Act sets a clear, minimum standard for local governments not to submit to burdensome requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain people for deportation unless the individual has a serious or violent felony conviction and develops protections to monitor and guard against profiling in the state.

The bill has won the support of the California Catholic Conference, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the Police Chiefs of Oakland and Palo Alto, and scores of local officials and community organizations.

It will next come back to the State Assembly for one concurrence vote following summer recess, before heading down to the Governor. Communities and leaders across the state are calling on Governor Brown to take action to keep families united and place reasonable limitations on deportations.

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Ammiano condemns SCOTUS’ upholding Arizona’s “show me your papers” provision, urges Gov. Brown, AG. Harris to ensure California becomes antidote to Arizona with TRUST Act

June 25, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 25, 2012

Sacramento - In response to the US Supreme Court ruling in the case of Arizona v. United States, Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, (D-SF) and author of California’s TRUST Act (AB 1081), issued the following statement:

While I am relieved the Supreme Court struck down portions of Arizona’s discriminatory law, it is heartbreaking that the most odious provision, the “show me your papers” section (2B), still stands. This should be called the “racial profiling” provision given the painful impact it will have.

With today’s ruling, the court has further legitimized the destructive practice of local police serving as an extension of our broken immigration system. This plunges millions of our friends, neighbors, and family members across the country into greater risk of separation from their loved ones.

But ironically, the damage was in many ways already done – by the federal “Secure” Communities or S-comm deportation program.

S-Comm has burdened our local governments and put even victims and witnesses of crime at risk of deportation, making us all less safe. It has even mistakenly trapped US citizens in our local jails for immigration purposes.

California’s TRUST Act would limit the unjust and onerous detentions for deportation in our local jails of community members who pose no threat to public safety. To ensure that our state does not become another Arizona, I respectfully urge Governor Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris to support the bill.

Statements from the sponsors of the TRUST Act follow. The bill is supported by a broad coalition of organizations and elected officials from across the state.

Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director, National Day Laborer Organizing Network: “The fact that the court could not tell whether on its face section 2(b) conflicts with federal policy means federal policy (i.e. S-Comm) is far too similar to Arizona policy. But it doesn’t have to be that way in California.”

Reshma Shamasunder, Executive Director, California Immigrant Policy Center: “With its decision on the provision that encourages racial profiling, the Supreme Court has effectively turned back the clock on our hard-won civil rights protections. In the wake of this bad ruling, California lawmakers must lead the nation in moving forward once again, by passing the TRUST Act as soon as possible.”

Angela Chan, senior staff attorney, Asian Law Caucus: ”The Trust Act will assist local police in rebuilding trust with Asian, Latino, and many other immigrant communities who are fearful of reporting crime because of S-Comm’s broad deportation dragnet.”

Background: The Arizona law, passed in April 2010, drew widespread condemnation because it would have forced local police to act as immigration agents and unleashed a wave of profiling based on appearance and accent. Immigrant advocates said the program would entangle police in what is an essentially broken immigration system.

At the heart of the similarity between S-Comm and SB 1070 is the fact that under S-Comm, the fingerprints of everyone arrested – even survivors of domestic violence arrested with their abusers – are automatically sent to ICE. Immigration officials then pressure local governments to hold immigrant community members in jail for extra time, at local expense, so that ICE can pick up the individuals for deportation. However, these “hold” requests are voluntary and a number of jurisdictions have already chosen to limit how they respond.

Nearly 7 in 10 of the 72,000 Californians deported either had no convictions or were brought in for minor offenses.

The TRUST Act passed the state Senate Public Safety committee 5-2 on June 12, 2012, and now heads to the Senate floor. The bill sets a minimum standard for local governments not to submit to ICE’s requests to detain people for deportation unless the individual has a serious or violent felony conviction and guards against profiling and wrongful detention of citizens and crime victims.

In an editorial published June 22, the New York Times endorsed the TRUST Act, stating: “The bill would enhance the ability of local departments to fight crime by restoring community trust and saving jail space for serious offenders. It deserves to become law.”

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Close To 1 Million Dreams Protected, 10.5 Million Dreams To Go

June 19, 2012

By Ju Hong, member of ASPIRE (Asian Students Promoting Immigrant Rights through Education)

Although I recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a major in Political Science, I am unable to use my degree to work because I am undocumented. Not only did I face a difficult time to finding ways to work, I also faced constant fear of deportation – until President Obama made an announcement last Friday to stop deportation and provide work permits to a selected group of DREAMers who meet requirements under a new immigration policy.

This historic announcement would not have been possible without the courageous DREAMers who stood up and shared their stories, held events and rallies, contacted elected officials, and led hunger strikes and civil disobedience actions despite risking deportation. After many years of collaborative efforts to demand for justice and equality, the federal government finally made a move to provide a very limited and temporary relief for many undocumented young people in this country.

For many years, I have lived in fear: The fear of facing deportation and of permanently leaving the country I called home; the fear of being separated from my friends, my family, and my community; the fear of not being accepted within my own community; the fear of contacting the police at a time of need; and the fear of losing my hope and dreams in graduating from college. Today, I feel liberated from these fears. Because of this announcement, I can better focus on preparing for my master’s degree program, provide for my family, and continue to advocate for the federal DREAM Act and Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

Prior to June 15, 2012, I was unable to get a job, apply for internships, or qualify for financial aid. Thus, I had to work more than thirty hours of week at a Japanese restaurant, mopping floors and washing dishes, getting paid below minimum wage under the table, while I commuted to school and enrolled as a full-time student at Laney College, Oakland. Sometimes I had to stay up all night to apply for limited scholarship opportunities to meet the deadlines. Today, I feel free from these obstacles. Because of this announcement, I will have open doors of new opportunities to use my degree to work and contribute back to society. Not only will I have the chance to work to support my schoolwork, but also I have capacity to support my family.  Like one of my fellow DREAMers said, “I feel I am normal again.”

With this announcement, an approximate 800,000 young peoples’ dreams are now protected, at least temporarily. This is huge victory for the undocumented community, but the fight is not over. There are thousands of other young DREAMers who are not eligible to apply for deferred action or work permits because of strict requirements under this announcement. For example, DREAMers who are over 30 years old cannot qualify to receive deferred action or work permits. Moving forward, we must stay involved and work with the Obama’s administration to include all DREAMers because they also have the right to DREAM.

Finally, we must continue to fight for the federal DREAM Act and Comprehensive Immigration Reform because this announcement is only a temporary solution. Now more than ever, we have strength, conviction, and power in our hands to organize, mobilize, and take collective actions to solve our broken immigration system. Soon, we will fulfill all the 11.5 million dreams.

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State Senate Committee approves bill to counteract disgraced “S-Comm’ deportation program

June 14, 2012

TRUST Act would ease burden on local governments of controversial program which has deported 72,694 Californians

SACRAMENTO – On June 12th, 2012, by a vote of 5 to 2, the California State Senate’s Public Safety Committee approved the new version of the TRUST Act (AB 1081 – Ammiano). The bill would reform California’s participation in the discredited “Secure” Communities deportation program – which has faced severe criticism for undermining public safety and burdening local governments – by limiting the unfair, extended detention of immigrants in local jails for deportation. Details are available below. The bill now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration.

The committee heard powerful testimony from Blanca Perez, a Los Angeles mother facing deportation due to an arrest last year for selling ice cream on the street who urged the state to set an example for the rest of the country with the passage of the bill. “Immigrants in Alabama and Arizona are afraid today, but as my experience tells us, immigrants in Los Angeles, here in Sacramento and even in San Francisco, have reason to be afraid as well,” Ms. Perez told the committee.

“Blanca’s story confirms that ICE’s priorities are stunningly out-of-whack,” said Assemblymember Tom Ammiano. “This is something I’d expect in Arizona, not in Los Angeles. Persecuting this courageous, hard-working mom for selling ice cream on the street is a ridiculous waste of resources. Today’s vote recognizes that S-Comm is sabotaging our public safety. The TRUST Act is the solution we need to begin rebuilding the confidence that our local law enforcement worked so hard to build, but that ICE has shattered.”

Tuesday’s decision comes as the Supreme Court continues to mull Arizona’s anti-immigrant SB 1070, which like the controversial S-Comm program entangles local police in federal immigration enforcement. To create a “bright line” between local police and ICE, the TRUST Act would:

  • Set a minimum standard for local governments not to submit to ICE’s requests to detain people for deportation unless the individual has a serious or violent felony conviction.
  • Guard against profiling and wrongful detention of citizens and crime victims and witnesses. Localities that detain individuals with serious convictions for deportation would develop common-sense plans to prevent profiling and wrongful detentions.

Last year, a report by UC Berkeley’s Warren Institute estimated that nationwide, some 3,600 US Citizens were apprehended by ICE due to S-Comm since the program’s start and also found S-Comm was disproportionately targeting Latinos.

Under the program, the fingerprints of everyone arrested – even survivors of domestic violence arrested with their abusers – are automatically sent to ICE. Immigration officials then pressure local governments to hold immigrant community members in jail for extra time, at local expense, so that ICE can pick up the individuals for deportation. However, these “hold” requests are clearly voluntary under federal law.

The vote falls one week after Washington, DC became the latest in a string of local governments across the country to adopt policies similar to the TRUST Act and also comes days after the California Catholic Conference – which consists of all ten of the state’s Catholic Bishops – publicly announced its strong support for the bill.

Over one hundred community members from around the state attended today’s hearing in support of the bill.

About the TRUST Act: In 2011, the first version of the bill passed both the California Assembly (47-26) and the Senate Public Safety Committee (5-2). The bill originally sought to modify California’s agreement with the federal government over S-Comm to curb the program’s well-documented abuses. However, in a stunning display of bad faith, ICE shredded all state agreements last year, but claimed states still needed to send fingerprints. ICE’s surprise maneuver spurred a months-long process of consultation with groups across the state, resulting in the focus on ICE’s burdensome “hold” requests.

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Obstacles to the Ballot Persist for Some Voters

June 11, 2012

Note: Originally published on New America Media on Jun 08, 2012 . This article has been re-posted with the permission of the author.

By Carolyn Hsu, Voting Rights Fellow at Asian Law Caucus

Our country’s civil rights laws strongly protect equal access to the vote for all citizens, but even today, this promise is still unmet. On Tuesday, June 5, the Asian Law Caucus (ALC) monitored poll sites throughout northern California to ensure that Asian American voters had full access to the ballot. What we found were a number of deficiencies at polling places across Alameda County that made it more difficult for voters, especially those still learning English, to cast a ballot.

According to the U.S. Census, one in three Asian Americans does not speak English very well, so language is one of the strongest barriers preventing our community from voting. When language assistance is provided, all citizens can meaningfully participate in the electoral process and have a voice on the important issues that affect their lives. Additionally, language assistance helps communities integrate immigrants into civic life. For these reasons, Congress enacted Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act.

That section requires jurisdictions to provide language assistance if the number of eligible voters qualifying for such assistance meets certain threshold numbers, as determined by the Census Bureau. That language assistance must be provided both before and on Election Day, and it includes bilingual assistance at poll sites and such translated written materials as voter information guides, ballots and signage. Alameda County is required to provide bilingual voting assistance in Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese.

ALC trained poll monitors to observe elections operations in areas with high concentrations of voters who do not speak English very well. They found that a number of poll sites throughout Alameda County failed to display voting materials in the required languages. There was also inadequate signage indicating that bilingual assistance was even available in the first place.

Additionally, Alameda County experienced difficulty recruiting a sufficient number of bilingual speakers to assist voters at the polls on Election Day. The county is currently required to comply with specific instructions in carrying out its language assistance plans after the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Alameda County, alleging that it failed to provide effective access to the electoral process for Spanish and Chinese-speaking citizens. The parties entered a consent decree, which required that Alameda County provide almost 720 Chinese bilingual workers at poll sites throughout the county on Tuesday. By Election Day, the county was not able to secure that requisite number.

In preparation for the November elections, the Registrar will again begin convening Language Advisory Committee meetings. Throughout the next several months, individuals from the community can attend these meetings to provide advice and assistance to the Registrar so it can better prepare to meet the language assistance needs of our community for future elections.

ALC will again conduct poll monitoring during the November 2012 elections, and is working in partnership with its affiliates at the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice to conduct this voter protection project throughout the country. The effort in northern California is made possible by the assistance of the Filipino Advocates for Justice (Union City), Family Bridges (Oakland), Lao Family Community Development (Oakland), and Asian Resources (Sacramento).

The Bay Area is home to over 1.5 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Counties like Alameda have a vested interest in ensuring that all its citizens, regardless of language proficiency, have the means to exercise their right to vote. Our democracy is at its strongest when we seek to enfranchise as many eligible citizens as possible. In November, many new Americans will vote for a president for the first time not just in this country but perhaps in their lives. Let’s make sure that every voice gets a chance to be heard.

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