California lawmakers have voted to boot out ICE from courthouses, so the agency can no longer arrest illegal immigrants when they show up for court.
From Mercury News:
California lawmakers on Thursday gave final approval to a bill that would place strict limits on the disclosure of a person’s immigration status in open court, continuing the sanctuary state’s rebellion against the Trump administration’s illegal immigration crackdown.
Senate Bill 785 was introduced in response to news reports of ICE agents tracking down undocumented immigrants in courthouses across the country. It takes aim at a tactic that advocates say is keeping many immigrants from testifying in court, reporting crimes or simply showing up to pay a ticket.
“This is about protecting public safety,” said Assemblywoman Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, one of the bill’s authors, in a statement Thursday. “Our criminal-justice system can’t function if witnesses or victims are afraid to testify out of fear of being deported. You should be able to testify against a murderer or rapist without fearing that you or your loved ones will be thrown out of the country as a result.”
Senate Bill 785 was introduced in response to news reports of ICE agents tracking down undocumented immigrants in courthouses across the country. It takes aim at a tactic that advocates say is keeping many immigrants from testifying in court, reporting crimes or simply showing up to pay a ticket.
“This is about protecting public safety,” said Assemblywoman Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, one of the bill’s authors, in a statement Thursday. “Our criminal-justice system can’t function if witnesses or victims are afraid to testify out of fear of being deported. You should be able to testify against a murderer or rapist without fearing that you or your loved ones will be thrown out of the country as a result.”
