California Democratic senators advanced a measure on Jan. 27 that would make it easier for people to sue federal agents over civil rights violations. The Senate Bill 747 was put forth due to fears of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement practices.
The bill from Sens. Scott Wiener and Aisha Wahab, both Bay Area Democrats, took on additional significance after the recent fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen and ICU nurse, by federal agents in Minnesota. Lawmakers referenced this incident during more than 90 minutes of floor discussion before voting 30 to 10 along party lines to send the measure to the Assembly.
“It’s a sad statement on where we are in this country that this has to be a partisan issue,” Wiener said just before the vote on his bill, which is also known as the “No Kings Act.” “Red, blue, everyone has constitutional rights. And everyone should have the ability to hold people accountable when they violate those rights.”
It’s among several bills lawmakers are moving forward in the new year to confront an escalation of aggressive immigration enforcement tactics and to protect immigrant communities. They include bills that would tax for-profit detention companies, prohibit law enforcement officers from moonlighting as federal agents, and attempt to curb courthouse arrests.
Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, a Democrat from Culver City, authored a bill that would prohibit law enforcement from taking a side job as a federal immigration agent.
“We don’t collaborate in the kidnapping of our own community members, but there is a loophole in state law,” he said. “While you can’t collaborate with ICE while you are working in your police shift, you can take a second job with the Department of Homeland Security. And I don’t think that that is right.”
In an interview with CalMatters, he stated that the legislation aims to bring transparency and accountability, as well as to close that loophole.
“The federal administration has created not just a secret police but a secret military at the expense of health care, social safety nets, and key benefits that the American people need and rely on to make it through the day,” said Bryan. “All of those resources have been rerouted to the unaccounted militarized force patrolling our streets and literally killing American citizens.”
Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes, a Democrat from San Bernardino, introduced legislation to prevent federal immigration agents from making “unannounced and indiscriminate” arrests in courthouses.
“The issue is clear-cut,” said Gómez Reyes in a statement. “One of the core responsibilities of the government is to protect people —not to inflict terror on them. California is not going to let the federal government make political targets out of people trying to be good stewards of the law. Discouraging people from coming to court makes our community less safe.”
