When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time. It’s an old adage made famous by Maya Angelou. It’s a good one and I’ve heard it more often lately. It’s especially fitting when applied to the current federal administration. Never have I seen so many, usually empty, campaign promises – good or bad – kept in a first 100 days.
Spending cuts? Check. Trade? Check. Immigration? Check. Now, that’s not to say everything has turned out how they said. The price of eggs, for one, remains notably high. But, when it comes to immigration enforcement they’ve done exactly what they promised. And, California’s 2016 ‘sanctuary state’ law is now hurting the very people it was meant to protect; hardworking Californians who otherwise abide by the law, work hard and contribute immensely to our economy and our communities.
Thankfully, the federal administration has given us a clear way to protect those undocumented families who we call our friends and neighbors, if we choose to take it.
In the vein of Angelou, let’s take a moment to listen to just who they’re telling us they are, and who they’re looking for: “Its public safety threats, those who are in the country illegally that have been convicted, arrested for serious crime. But let me be clear. There’s not only public safety threats that will be arrested, because in sanctuary cities, we’re not allowed to get that public safety threat in the jail, which means we got to go to the neighborhood and find him. And when we find him, he may be with others… So sanctuary cities will get exactly what they don’t want, more agents in their neighborhoods and more collateral arrests.”
That’s Tom Homan, the president’s “Border Czar’ and his top adviser on immigration issues. And, “collateral arrests?” Those are the law-abiding members of California communities who are being incidentally picked up and deported because current law doesn’t require law enforcement to hand over those who pose very real public safety threats when they pick them up for serious crimes.
That’s why I introduced Senate Bill 554. It’s a simple fix that will take violent criminals out of our communities while protecting the millions of undocumented Californians living the right way from becoming deported as “collateral.”
I believe Tom Homan and the president when they tell us who they are. In fact, I’ve seen it. Shortly after they told us in January that they were going after undocumented violent criminals, the raids started. And, just like they said, collateral arrests have been a problem.
During a February raid in Los Angeles, federal agents arrested 212 undocumented immigrants for deportation. The targets were violent criminals arrested for child sex crimes, gun crimes, gang activity and other serious felonies. But, because they weren’t handed over to immigration officers by local police at the jailhouse, they got picked up in the community where an additional 95 undocumented immigrants without serious criminal histories – including children – were arrested along with them. The so-called “collateral arrests.”
Afterward, Homan again told us who they are, and what they’re after: “Because sanctuary jurisdictions like Los Angeles prevent ICE from arresting criminal aliens in the secure confines of a jail, our officers are forced to conduct at-large arrests in the community…increasing the incidents of collateral arrests.”
Enter Senate Bill 554. The bill keeps current restrictions on police from turning in undocumented immigrants for minor crimes, but would require local law enforcement to cooperate with federal agents if an undocumented immigrant commits a serious or violent felony.
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However you feel about these deportations, they’re happening. California’s sanctuary state law has always allowed for the worst criminals to be transferred for deportation but now it’s time we must actually exercise that option to prevent innocent undocumented immigrants from being picked up. Senate Bill 554 is about keeping our community members safe from rapists, from gang members, and from collateral deportation.
Brian Jones represents California’s 40th state Senate District.
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