DATE:
December 10, 2024
29
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
ADOPTING A BOARD POLICY ON IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT TO ENHANCE COMMUNITY SAFETY (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
Immigrant communities form an integral part of our County's social fabric. When federal immigration authorities, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Border Patrol, coerces local law enforcement to carry out deportations, family members are separated and community trust in law enforcement and local government is destroyed. Witnesses and victims who are undocumented or who have loved ones who are undocumented are afraid to come to the County for help, which includes calling local law enforcement. This puts the public safety of all San Diegans at risk.
In 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed California Assembly Bill 4 (AB 4) [(Ammiano), Chapter 570], the TRUST Act, which protected community members from being detained by local law enforcement under immigration holds requested by ICE. Prior to the TRUST Act, ICE requested local jails hold community members until they could be picked up for deportation. From tamale vendors to domestic violence survivors transferred to ICE for deportation, the holds caused significant suffering and further weakened community-police relations as ICE sought to have local police officers and sheriff's deputies help it carry out mass deportation. After TRUST went into effect, a federal court found all immigration holds unconstitutional, but ICE continued to circumvent the protections of TRUST by requesting local law enforcement notify them of personal information, such as release time and location.
The Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds (TRUTH) Act of 2016, California Assembly Bill 2792 (AB 2792) [(Bonta), Chapter 768], built upon the TRUST Act by requiring a transparent process when local law enforcement provides ICE access to individuals. This includes notifying det...
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