SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California State Senate has advanced 11 immigration-related bills aimed at limiting federal enforcement overreach, strengthening oversight of detention facilities and increasing transparency surrounding immigration enforcement incidents, according to a press release from the Office of Senate President Pro Tempore Monique Limón.
The release stated the Senate is “taking action to protect immigrants in California by limiting overreach from the federal government and enforcement agencies,” while also expanding detention oversight and incident reporting requirements.
“This week, the California State Senate advanced eleven bills that protect our communities from ongoing threats from the federal administration,” the release stated, adding that “immigrants in California are living in fear as immigration enforcement has become more intense and even fatal.”
“California will continue to lead the way on protecting communities targeted by the federal government,” Limón said, thanking senators for advancing bills that “push for accountability on the state and federal level.”
According to the release, six people have died while being held in California immigration detention centers since intensified immigration enforcement actions began. The release also pointed to watchdog reports on facility conditions, people detained while attending immigration court hearings and community members injured while protesting.
“The Senate takes these incidents seriously and has quickly moved to put the proper guardrails in place,” the release stated.
Several bills focus on enforcement practices. SB 1257, authored by Sen. Jesse Arreguín, would require the attorney general to publish an annual report on immigration enforcement incidents occurring at safe places, including schools, hospitals, shelters and courthouses.
Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes said SB 873 would strengthen protections surrounding arrests near California courts.
“California is not going to let the federal government make political targets out of people trying to be good stewards of the law,” Reyes said. She added that arrests near courts by unidentified federal agents without proper warrants are “unreasonable, unjust, and unlawful.”
SB 937, authored by Sen. Lena Gonzalez, would restrict the use of flashbangs and explosive breaching devices during protests and immigration enforcement operations.
“We cannot stand by while our streets are militarized and our children’s safety is endangered,” Gonzalez said, adding the bill would stop military-style weapons from being used against peaceful protesters or people who pose no public safety threat.
Other bills address cooperation between state, local and federal law enforcement agencies. SB 938, authored by Sen. Caroline Menjivar, would prevent certain ICE agents hired after Jan. 20, 2025, from receiving lateral waivers from California POST training requirements.
“When federal agents swept through California under the direction of the Trump Administration, their racial profiling and unlawful immigration enforcement created a climate of fear,” Menjivar said.
SB 1105, authored by Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, would prohibit local law enforcement agencies from entering into agreements with federal agents carrying out immigration enforcement operations.
Pérez said SB 1105 would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from participating in federal operations that violate state laws, including racial or identity profiling and “the criminalization of protected speech.”
The package also includes detention-focused legislation. SB 1367, authored by Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, would restrict counties and cities from using land to build detention facilities. SB 942, authored by Sen. Anna Caballero, would require for-profit immigration detention facilities to register with the California Department of Public Health.
“This bill does not endorse the detention system,” Caballero said. “Rather, it ensures that those inside are not denied basic protections.”
Sen. María Elena Durazo said SB 1399 would remove a sunset provision from current law requiring the California Department of Justice to review immigration detention facilities and report on conditions of confinement.
“The Senate’s vote is a statement that California will not look away,” Durazo said. “As long as people are being detained in California, the public has a right to know what is happening inside those facilities.”
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