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Undocumented immigrants will no longer have to fear being turned over to immigration authorities if they are a victim of or a witness to a crime.
Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 493 into law on Sept. 1, extending protections already given to undocumented immigrants involved in hate crimes.
The bill was sparked by the arrest of Pedro Figueroa Zarceno in San Francisco in December 2015. According to SF Gate, local police turned Figueroa over to ICE after he reported his car stolen. He was held in a detention facility for about two months. He filed a lawsuit in January against the San Francisco Police Department.
Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer of Los Angeles said he introduced the bill to promote people to work with police.
Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 493 into law on Sept. 1, extending protections already given to undocumented immigrants involved in hate crimes.
The bill was sparked by the arrest of Pedro Figueroa Zarceno in San Francisco in December 2015. According to SF Gate, local police turned Figueroa over to ICE after he reported his car stolen. He was held in a detention facility for about two months. He filed a lawsuit in January against the San Francisco Police Department.
Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer of Los Angeles said he introduced the bill to promote people to work with police.
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| Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer |
"It is in the best interest of all Californians to encourage all persons — victims, witnesses or anyone who provides evidence to assist in a criminal investigation — to cooperate with law enforcement,” Jones-Sawyer wrote in a statement.
The original analysis of the bill cited a study done at the University of Illinois in 2013. It concluded that 70 percent of undocumented immigrants are unlikely to contact police if they are victims of a crime. About 44 percent of Latinos, regardless of immigration status, are also not likely to contact police when they're victims out of fear of being questioned about their immigration status or the status of people they know.
The study was conducted in various counties around the nation but resonates with at least one Chico resident.
The study was conducted in various counties around the nation but resonates with at least one Chico resident.
Laura Quinones, a 21-year-old Latina Chico State student, said she remembers a time when her father was working illegally in California and he was a witness to a shooting in front of their house.
“The defense attorneys would constantly contact my dad," she said, "and I didn't really know what was going on because I was younger, and my dad would always say ‘I don’t want to get involved, I don’t want to talk to the police.’”
Quinones said that now that she is older she understands why her father wouldn’t come forward.
“He had a bunch of young kids, he was working here in this country illegally and he witnessed a crime, so I think it was the fear of them using that against him, fear of being taken away,” she said.
Quinones said she thinks AB 493 will encourage more undocumented immigrants to cooperate with police.
Quinones said she thinks AB 493 will encourage more undocumented immigrants to cooperate with police.
The bill was backed by the American Civil Liberties Union.
“AB 493 promotes community trust in law enforcement and encourages cooperation with criminal investigations, which increases public safety for all Californians,” the group said in a statement.
“AB 493 promotes community trust in law enforcement and encourages cooperation with criminal investigations, which increases public safety for all Californians,” the group said in a statement.
Also behind the bill were the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, California Catholic Conference, California Public Defenders Association, City of Santa Monica and National Association of Social Workers. There was no official public opposition from any organizations.
Prior legislation
Protections already in place for undocumented immigrants in California includes a statute from 2004 that, similar to AB 493, prohibits police from detaining a victim or witness to a crime on the basis of immigration status, but only if it is a hate crime.
The California Legislature also passed the TRUST Act in 2013, which prevents police from detaining undocumented immigrants after they become eligible for parole. Assemblyman Jones-Sawyer introduced an additional bill in January extending protections to juvenile undocumented immigrants, but that bill has not had a hearing in the Assembly.
Opposition from local legislator
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| Assemblyman James Gallagher |
AB 493 was originally introduced in the Assembly on March 21, the day Assemblyman James Gallagher, who represents Chico and Assembly District 3, introduced a bill rolling back protections for immigrants by repealing the TRUST Act.
“To me this is personal. I have two young daughters. We must prevent these acts from happening,” Gallagher said about his bill in a Twitter post.
“To me this is personal. I have two young daughters. We must prevent these acts from happening,” Gallagher said about his bill in a Twitter post.
Gallagher’s bill was officially removed from legislative processes in May after failing to get a majority. He never voted on AB 493, which will go into effect Jan. 1.
-- By Lizzie Helmer