SACRAMENTO, CA – The Sacramento Police Department this past week joined other California cities—like Stockton, San Francisco and Los Angeles—promising not to cooperate with federal immigration agents, despite the Trump Administration’s threats of prosecuting local officials who don’t cooperate with ICE.
The Sacramento Bee wrote that SPD department officials announced in the community bulletin, “The Sacramento Police Department wants to reassure our community that we will continue to provide the best possible service to all members of our community, regardless of their immigration status.”
SPD said its officers would not violate department policy and state Senate Bill 54 by engaging in any form of immigration enforcement, according to the Sacramento Bee.
“SB 54, also known as California’s ‘sanctuary state’ law passed in October 2017, limits state and local law enforcement from using resources to assist in federal immigration enforcement. This sanctuary law prevents collaboration used in other states, but will not stop any potential arrests by federal agents,” wrote the Bee.
“The department policy dictates that Sacramento police officers ‘will not initiate police action based solely on an individual’s immigration status.’ The Sacramento Police Department wants to reassure our community that we will continue to provide the best possible service to all members of our community, regardless of their immigration status,” said SPD, the Bee added.
President Donald Trump’s acting deputy attorney general in a memo Tuesday criticized local sanctuary policies that limit when local police can and have to cooperate with federal immigration agents, arguing that they undermine public safety.
The memo, first reported by Bloomberg Law News, stated the U.S. The Department of Justice will track and investigate local officials in jurisdictions that don’t cooperate with Trump’s immigration policies and potentially prosecute them.
According to the Sacramento Bee, “Enforcement of federal immigration laws is the sole responsibility of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (the federal agency also known as ICE) under the direction of the U.S. Department of Homeland Services; not the responsibility of state or local law enforcement agencies, according to the Police Department policy.”
According to the Sacramento Bee, “On Wednesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the Trump Administration memo ‘a scare tactic’ in an attempt ‘to intimidate and bully state and local law enforcement into carrying out’ Trump’s threatened mass deportations.”
On Thursday, Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a sheriff’s spokesperson stated, “As with anything, we will address situations within our purview as they arise, while ensuring we remain in full compliance with the law.”
Bonta and at least 11 attorney generals from other states stated in a joint statement, the Bee noted, “The president has made troubling threats to weaponize the U.S. Department of Justice’s prosecutorial authority and resources to attack public servants acting in compliance with their state laws, interfering with their ability to build trust with the communities they serve and protect.
“Right now, these vague threats are just that: empty words on paper. But rest assured, our states will not hesitate to respond if these words become illegal actions.”
