Immigrant rights advocates and City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez conducted a rally at Los Angeles City Hall today to express their support for AB 1537, which aims to prohibit law enforcement officers in California from taking on secondary employment directly involved in the deportation of immigrants in the country illegally.
Authored by Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Culver City, and sponsored by a broad coalition of immigrant, civil rights and labor organizations, the bill aims to bar police, sheriff’s deputies and certain other law enforcement officers in the state from working in secondary jobs that consist of “arresting, detaining, transporting or deporting” people under federal or out-of-state immigration laws.
The bill would apply to “side jobs” with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or with a law enforcement agency in another state that has enacted “anti-immigration legislation.” It also has amendments, clarifying that the provisions within would not apply to service in the U.S. armed forces.
Law enforcement officers would not be impacted in pursuing other employment such as working with the Coast Guard Reserve. Organizers say the bill is awaiting action from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has until Sept. 30 to approve or veto it.
Jose Madera, director of the Pasadena Community Job Center and a leader with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said it was important to distinguish between the work of local officers and federal agents.
“And I don’t know if this officer is working in Pasadena in the day, and at night, working with ICE,” Madera said in a statement, describing an arrest by a local law enforcement officer he witnessed on the one-year anniversary of the Eaton wildfire. “That’s the uncertainty that we have. And that’s why we’re urging Gov. Newsom to stand with day laborers, to stand with construction workers, to stand with delivery workers, to stand with students, with parents, to stand with our neighbors, and sign AB 1537.”
Organizers said the bill comes at a critical time when the Trump administration has intensified mass deportation of immigrants in the country illegally. Administration officials point out that Trump was elected president twice partially on his tough stance on illegal immigration, and point to the dramatic reduction in illegal crossings at the U.S./Mexico border since he was inaugurated in early 2025. They also say they’re working to remove immigrants with criminal records.
Additionally, the federal government has bolstered efforts to recruit local police officers. In the city of Los Angeles, the City Council and Mayor Karen Bass have approved a policy barring Los Angeles Police Department officers from having secondary employment related to the deportation of immigrants.
“If you’re a public servant, you should be serving the public — not helping ICE tear families apart. I’m proud to support the No Side Jobs for ICE Act, and I urge Gov. Newsom to sign it,” Soto-Martinez said in a statement.
AB 1537 is opposed by law enforcement organizations, including the Los Angeles Police Protective League, who argue, among other things, that it threatens disaster response capabilities and military/reservist participation by penalizing work or volunteering with agencies that contract with the Department of Homeland Security.
