California lawmakers pass sanctuary bills protecting undocumented immigrant students News
California lawmakers pass sanctuary bills protecting undocumented immigrant students

The California State Assembly [government website] passed two bills [Courthouse News report] on Thursday which, if passed by the senate, will strengthen protections for undocumented immigrant students in public schools from kindergarten through college. Assembly Bill 699 [text] passed by a 60-13 vote [vote count, text], with seven members not voting, and will provide numerous protections for students attending K-12 public schools in the state. Assembly Bill 21 [text], passed by a narrower 55-23 vote [vote count, text] with two members abstaining, will provide similar protections to students in higher education. Among the protections provided in the bills are provisions preventing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) [official website] officers from “entering a schoolsite without … a valid judicial warrant … and approval from the superintendent.” The laws would also prevent school staff from collecting information regarding the immigration status of students or cooperating with federal law enforcement agencies that seek to deport students based on their immigration status. Additionally, AB-21 would prevent students enrolled in the California State University, University of California or California Community Colleges [official websites] systems from losing financial aid, housing stipends, or other benefits granted to state residents in the event the student is deported.

The bills are seen as a response to the Trump administration’s controversial policies towards undocumented immigrants [Newsweek report], as well as the President’s proposed budget cuts to education [LA Times report]. In March, California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye issued an open letter [JURIST report] asking ICE agents to stop following undocumented immigrants to courthouses in order to make arrests. This letter was issued following an incident the previous month in a California courthouse when ICE agents surrounded [LA Times report] a man to arrest him as he was walking in the hallway of the courthouse with his attorney. Attorneys in Arizona, Texas, and Colorado have also reported instances of having their clients arrested in courthouse hallways and in courtrooms. Numerous attorneys and judges are criticizing such tactics. In February Secretary John Kelly of the Department of Homeland Security [official website] issued [JURIST report] two memoranda to direct the department to begin implementing executive orders concerning immigration laws. Also in February Chief Magistrate Judge James Donohue of the US District Court for the Western District of Washington [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that a Mexican immigrant-detainee must be granted a bail hearing. In January the US House of Representatives [official website] passed a funding bill [JURIST report] that included amendments designed to repeal key elements of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

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