Newsom signs package of bills in Los Angeles to restrict immigration raids

LOS ANGELES — Appearing with a host of state and local officials in downtown Los Angeles, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of legislation today that would restrict the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration.

Newsom signed five bills at the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex, alongside LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, Mayor Karen Bass, County Supervisor Hilda Solis, Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

“We’re here in Los Angeles, the most diverse city in the most diverse state, California, in the world’s most diverse democracy. It is a point of pride. … At our best we don’t tolerate that diversity, at our best we celebrate that diversity,” Newsom said.

“…Our status is unique … it’s what makes California great. It’s what makes America great. And it’s under assault by this administration,” the governor continued. “There’s a word that you’ve never heard uttered from the president of the United States’ lips, and certainly not (White House Deputy Chief of Staff) Stephen Miller, and that’s pluralism. We practice pluralism. It’s a deep point of pride. Those values are under assault, to a degree we could have never imagined.”

The bills include SB627, a ban on law enforcement agents wearing masks, SB805, a requirement that they visibly display identification, and a prohibition against bail fugitive recovery agents from using their position for immigration enforcement.

Two of the bills are specifically focused on public schools: SB98 requires K-12 schools and higher education institutions to notify parents, students and staff when immigration enforcement is confirmed on campus, and AB49 requires enforcement officers to obtain a valid judicial warrant and meet other requirements before entering a school or facility. It also prevents school officials from collecting immigration information and prohibits them from disclosing pupil or family information to immigration authorities without a warrant or court order.

Four of the bills go into effect immediately, while the masking law goes into effect in January.

“The fact that we need bills to protect people’s rights of privacy from information sharing, masking of federal agents — if they are federal agents — protecting kids so that they can come to school … all of this legislative resistance is to protect Angelenos from our own federal government,” Bass said. “That is profound.”

“… But what I’m so proud of in our city is that and we have legislative resistance, we have resistance from local government and state government, and we have resistance on the streets,” the mayor added.

California Democrats have assailed the raids, which began in the Southland in June. They’ve accused agents of targeting people based on their race, and of detaining people without due process. They also say the raids have failed to live up to the administration’s promise to target those undocumented immigrants suspected of committing violent crimes.

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security have released the alleged criminal histories of many of the detained immigrants.

And appearing on Friday night’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” in Los Angeles, White House border czar Tom Homan said even those in the United States illegally who don’t commit other crimes create a backlog in the immigration system, delaying the process for thousands who are waiting their turn to come here legally.

“Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime,” Homan said. “If you send a message that there’s no consequences and you want to reward illegal behavior, (it’s) not going to stop.”

“… If you want to be a part of the greatest nation on Earth, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it,” he continued. “The ones who are here illegally cheated the system. They moved themselves to the front of the line and they overwhelmed the immigration court system back nine, 10 years, which means that people who are really trying to come here the right way are sitting in the back of the bus.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday’s signing ceremony.