Bill Text: CA AB2792 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Local law enforcement agencies: federal immigration policy enforcement: ICE access.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-09-28 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 768, Statutes of 2016. [AB2792 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB2792-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2792 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 768
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 25, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 19, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 15, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 3, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 22, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 17, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bonta
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Alejo)
(Principal coauthor: Senator Leno)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Lopez)
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to add Chapter 17.2 (commencing with Section 7283) to
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, relating to local
government.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2792, Bonta. Local law enforcement agencies: federal
immigration policy enforcement: ICE access.
Existing federal law authorizes issuance of an immigration
detainer that serves to advise another law enforcement agency that
the federal department seeks custody of an alien presently in the
custody of that agency, for the purpose of arresting and removing the
alien. Existing federal law provides that the detainer is a request
that the agency advise the department, prior to release of the alien,
in order for the department to arrange to assume custody in
situations when gaining immediate physical custody is either
impracticable or impossible.
Existing law, commonly known as the TRUST Act, prohibits a law
enforcement official, as defined, from detaining an individual on the
basis of a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold
after that individual becomes eligible for release from custody,
unless, at the time that the individual becomes eligible for release
from custody, certain conditions are met, including, among other
things, that the individual has been convicted of specified crimes.
Existing law defines specified terms for purposes of these
provisions.
This bill, the Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds
(TRUTH) Act, would require a local law enforcement agency, prior to
an interview between the United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) and an individual in custody regarding civil
immigration violations, to provide the individual a written consent
form, as specified, that would explain, among other things, the
purpose of the interview, that it is voluntary, and that the
individual may decline to be interviewed. The bill would require the
consent form to be available in specified languages. The bill would
require a local law enforcement agency to provide copies of specified
documentation received from ICE to the individual and to notify the
individual regarding the intent of the agency to comply with ICE
requests. The bill would require that the records related to ICE
access be public records for purposes of the California Public
Records Act. The bill, commencing January 1, 2018, would require the
local governing body of any county, city, or city and county in which
a local law enforcement agency has provided ICE access to an
individual during the last year, to hold at least one public
community forum during the following year, as specified, to provide
information to the public about ICE's access to individuals and to
receive and consider public comment. By requiring these local
agencies to comply with these requirements, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the
purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies
and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a
statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public
records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the
enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this
purpose.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds (TRUTH) Act.
SEC. 2. (a) Transparency and accountability are essential minimum
requirements for any collaboration between state and federal
agencies.
(b) Recent immigration enforcement programs sponsored by the
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency have
suffered from a lack of transparency and accountability.
(c) For example, a federal judge found that ICE "went out of
its] way to mislead the public about Secure Communities," a
deportation program in which ICE collaborated with local law
enforcement agencies to identify people for deportation.
(d) The Legislature further found that Secure Communities harmed
community policing and shifted the burden of federal immigration
enforcement onto local law enforcement agencies.
(e) Although ICE has terminated the Secure Communities program, it
continues to promote a number of similar programs, including the
Priority Enforcement Program, the 287(g) Program, and the Criminal
Alien Program.
(f) The Priority Enforcement Program has many similarities to
Secure Communities, including the checking of fingerprints for
immigration purposes at the point of arrest; the continued use of
immigration detainers, which have been found by the courts to pose
constitutional concerns; and the reliance on local law enforcement to
assist in immigration enforcement.
(g) Just as with Secure Communities, numerous questions have been
raised about whether ICE has been transparent and accountable with
respect to its current deportation programs.
(h) This bill seeks to address the lack of transparency and
accountability by ensuring that all ICE deportation programs that
depend on entanglement with local law enforcement agencies in
California are subject to meaningful public oversight.
(i) This bill also seeks to promote public safety and preserve
limited local resources because entanglement between local law
enforcement and ICE undermines community policing strategies and
drains local resources.
SEC. 3. Chapter 17.2 (commencing with Section 7283) is added to
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, to read:
CHAPTER 17.2. STANDARDS FOR PARTICIPATION IN UNITED STATES
IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS
7283. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Community forum" includes, but is not limited to, any regular
meeting of the local governing body that is open to the public,
where the public may provide comment, is in an accessible location,
and is noticed at least 30 days in advance.
(b) "Hold request" means a federal Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) request that a local law enforcement agency
maintain custody of an individual currently in its custody beyond the
time he or she would otherwise be eligible for release in order to
facilitate transfer to ICE and includes, but is not limited to,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-247D.
(c) "Governing body" with respect to a county, means the county
board of supervisors.
(d) "ICE access" means, for the purposes of civil immigration
enforcement, including when an individual is stopped with or without
their consent, arrested, detained, or otherwise under the control of
the local law enforcement agency, all of the following:
(1) Responding to an ICE hold, notification, or transfer request.
(2) Providing notification to ICE in advance of the public that an
individual is being or will be released at a certain date and time
through data sharing or otherwise.
(3) Providing ICE non-publicly available information regarding
release dates, home addresses, or work addresses, whether through
computer databases, jail logs, or otherwise.
(4) Allowing ICE to interview an individual.
(5) Providing ICE information regarding dates and times of
probation or parole check-ins.
(e) "Local law enforcement agency" means any agency of a city,
county, city and county, special district, or other political
subdivision of the state that is authorized to enforce criminal
statutes, regulations, or local ordinances; or to operate jails or to
maintain custody of individuals in jails; or to operate juvenile
detention facilities or to maintain custody of individuals in
juvenile detention facilities; or to monitor compliance with
probation or parole conditions.
(f) "Notification request" means an Immigration and Customs
Enforcement request that a local law enforcement agency inform ICE of
the release date and time in advance of the public of an individual
in its custody and includes, but is not limited to, DHS Form I-247N.
(g) "Transfer request" means an Immigration and Customs
Enforcement request that a local law enforcement agency facilitate
the transfer of an individual in its custody to ICE, and includes,
but is not limited to, DHS Form I-247X.
7283.1. (a) In advance of any interview between ICE and an
individual in local law enforcement custody regarding civil
immigration violations, the local law enforcement entity shall
provide the individual with a written consent form that explains the
purpose of the interview, that the interview is voluntary, and that
he or she may decline to be interviewed or may choose to be
interviewed only with his or her attorney present. The written
consent form shall be available in English, Spanish, Chinese,
Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Korean. The written consent form shall also
be available in any additional languages that meet the county
threshold as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 128552 of the
Health and Safety Code if certified translations in those languages
are made available to the local law enforcement agency at no cost.
(b) Upon receiving any ICE hold, notification, or transfer
request, the local law enforcement agency shall provide a copy of the
request to the individual and inform him or her whether the law
enforcement agency intends to comply with the request. If a local law
enforcement agency provides ICE with notification that an individual
is being, or will be, released on a certain date, the local law
enforcement agency shall promptly provide the same notification in
writing to the individual and to his or her attorney or to one
additional person who the individual shall be permitted to designate.
(c) All records relating to ICE access provided by local law
enforcement agencies, including all communication with ICE, shall be
public records for purposes of the California Public Records Act
(Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250)), including the
exemptions provided by that act and, as permitted under that act,
personal identifying information may be redacted prior to public
disclosure. Records relating to ICE access include, but are not
limited to, data maintained by the local law enforcement agency
regarding the number and demographic characteristics of individuals
to whom the agency has provided ICE access, the date ICE access was
provided, and whether the ICE access was provided through a hold,
transfer, or notification request or through other means.
(d) Beginning January 1, 2018, the local governing body of any
county, city, or city and county in which a local law enforcement
agency has provided ICE access to an individual during the last year
shall hold at least one community forum during the following year,
that is open to the public, in an accessible location, and with at
least 30 days' notice to provide information to the public about ICE'
s access to individuals and to receive and consider public comment.
As part of this forum, the local law enforcement agency may provide
the governing body with data it maintains regarding the number and
demographic characteristics of individuals to whom the agency has
provided ICE access, the date ICE access was provided, and whether
the ICE access was provided through a hold, transfer, or notification
request or through other means. Data may be provided in the form of
statistics or, if statistics are not maintained, individual records,
provided that personally identifiable information shall be redacted.
7283.2. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to provide,
expand, or ratify the legal authority of any state or local law
enforcement agency to detain an individual based upon an ICE hold
request.
SEC. 4. The Legislature finds and declares that Section 3 of this
act, which adds Chapter 17.2 (commencing with Section 7283) to
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, furthers, within the
meaning of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I
of the California Constitution, the purposes of that constitutional
section as it relates to the right of public access to the meetings
of local public bodies or the writings of local public officials and
local agencies. Pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of
Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the
Legislature makes the following findings:
By requiring public meetings relating to the manner in which local
law enforcement entities cooperate with federal authorities in
enforcing federal immigration laws and making related documents open
to public inspection, this act furthers the purposes of paragraph (7)
of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California
Constitution.
SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district under this act would result from a legislative mandate that
is within the scope of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3
of Article I of the California Constitution.
