Amended in Senate August 19, 2016

Amended in Senate August 15, 2016

Amended in Senate August 3, 2016

Amended in Senate June 22, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 7, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 17, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 2792


Introduced by Assembly Member Bonta

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Alejo)

(Principal coauthor: Senator Leno)

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Lopez)

February 19, 2016


An act to add Chapter 17.2 (commencing with Section 7283) to Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, relating to local government.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2792, as amended, Bonta. Local law enforcement agencies: federal immigration policy enforcement: ICE access.

Existing federal law authorizes issuance of an immigration detainer that serves to advise another law enforcement agency that the federal department seeks custody of an alien presently in the custody of that agency, for the purpose of arresting and removing the alien. Existing federal law provides that the detainer is a request that the agency advise the department, prior to release of the alien, in order for the department to arrange to assume custody in situations when gaining immediate physical custody is either impracticable or impossible.

Existing law, commonly known as the TRUST Act, prohibits a law enforcement official, as defined, from detaining an individual on the basis of a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold after that individual becomes eligible for release from custody, unless, at the time that the individual becomes eligible for release from custody, certain conditions are met, including, among other things, that the individual has been convicted of specified crimes. Existing law defines specified terms for purposes of these provisions.

This bill, the Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds (TRUTH) Act, wouldbegin delete authorizeend deletebegin insert requireend insert a local law enforcementbegin delete agency to provideend deletebegin insert agency, prior to an interview betweenend insert the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)begin delete with access toend deletebegin insert andend insert an individualbegin delete if certain conditions are met, as provided.end deletebegin insert in custody regarding civil immigration violations, to provide the individual a written consent form, as specified, that would explain, among other things, the purpose of the interview, that it is voluntary, and that the individual may decline to be interviewed. The bill would require the consent form to be available in specified languages. The bill would require a local law enforcement agency to provide copies of specified documentation received from ICE to the individual and to notify the individual regarding the intent of the agency to comply with ICE requests.end insert The bill would require that the records related to ICE access be public records for purposes of the California Public Records Act. The bill, commencing January 1, 2018, would require the local governing body of any county, city, or city and county in which a local law enforcement agency has provided ICE access to an individual during the last year, to hold at least one public community forum during the following year, as specified, to provide information to the public about ICE’s access to individuals and to receive and consider public comment.begin delete The bill would require the community forum to include a report by the local law enforcement agency about its policies and practices regarding ICE access to individuals and compliance with the TRUTH act.end delete By requiring these local agencies to comply with these requirements, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.begin delete The bill would also prohibit police and security departments of the California State University, community colleges, schools, and school districts from providing ICE access to any individual.end delete

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The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

end delete
begin delete

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

end delete
begin insert

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

end insert
begin insert

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

end insert

The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P3    1

SECTION 1.  

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
2Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds (TRUTH) Act.

3

SEC. 2.  

(a) Transparency and accountability are essential
4minimum requirements for any collaboration between state and
5federal agencies.

6(b) Recent immigration enforcement programs sponsored by
7the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
8agency have suffered from a lack of transparency and
9accountability.

10(c) For example, a federal judge found that ICE “went out of
11[its] way to mislead the public about Secure Communities,” a
12deportation program in which ICE collaborated with local law
13enforcement agencies to identify people for deportation.

14(d) The Legislature further found that Secure Communities
15harmed community policing and shifted the burden of federal
16immigration enforcement onto local law enforcement agencies.

P4    1(e) Although ICE has terminated the Secure Communities
2program, it continues to promote a number of similar programs,
3including the Priority Enforcement Program, the 287(g) Program,
4and the Criminal Alien Program.

5(f) The Priority Enforcement Program has many similarities to
6Secure Communities, including the checking of fingerprints for
7immigration purposes at the point of arrest; the continued use of
8immigration detainers, which have been found by the courts to
9pose constitutional concerns; and the reliance on local law
10enforcement to assist in immigration enforcement.

11(g) Just as with Secure Communities, numerous questions have
12been raised about whether ICE has been transparent and
13accountable with respect to its current deportation programs.

14(h) This bill seeks to address the lack of transparency and
15accountability by ensuring that all ICE deportation programs that
16depend on entanglement with local law enforcement agencies in
17California are subject to meaningful publicbegin delete oversight and meet
18certain minimum standards.end delete
begin insert oversight.end insert

begin insert

19
(i) This bill also seeks to promote public safety and preserve
20limited local resources because entanglement between local law
21enforcement and ICE undermines community policing strategies
22and drains local resources.

end insert
23

SEC. 3.  

Chapter 17.2 (commencing with Section 7283) is added
24to Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, to read:

25 

26Chapter  17.2. Standards for Participation in United
27States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Programs
28

 

29

7283.  

For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have
30the following meanings:

31(a) “Community forum” includes, but is not limited to, any
32regular meeting of the local governing body that is open to the
33public, where the public may provide comment, is in an accessible
34location, and is noticed at least 30 days in advance.

35(b) “Hold request” means a federal Immigration and Customs
36Enforcement (ICE) request that a local law enforcement agency
37maintain custody of an individual currently in its custody beyond
38the time he or she would otherwise be eligible for release in order
39to facilitate transfer to ICE and includes, but is not limited to,
40Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-247D.

P5    1(c) “Governing body” with respect to a county, means the county
2board of supervisors.

3(d) “ICE access” means, for the purposes of civil immigration
4enforcement, including when an individual is stopped with or
5without their consent, arrested, detained, or otherwise under the
6control of the local law enforcement agency, all of the following:

7(1) Responding to an ICE hold, notification, or transfer request.

8(2) Providing notification to ICE in advance of the public that
9an individual is being or will be released at a certain date and time
10through data sharing or otherwise.

11(3) Providing ICE non-publicly available information regarding
12release dates, home addresses, or work addresses, whether through
13computer databases, jail logs, or otherwise.

14(4) Allowing ICE to interview an individual.

15(5) Providing ICE information regarding dates and times of
16probation or parole check-ins.

17(e) “Local law enforcement agency” means any agency of a
18city, county, city and county, special district, or other political
19subdivision of the state that is authorized to enforce criminal
20statutes, regulations, or local ordinances; or to operate jails or to
21maintain custody of individuals in jails; or to operate juvenile
22detention facilities or to maintain custody of individuals in juvenile
23detention facilities; or to monitor compliance with probation or
24parole conditions.

25(f) “Notification request” means an Immigration and Customs
26Enforcement request that a local law enforcement agency inform
27ICE of the release date and time in advance of the public of an
28individual in its custody and includes, but is not limited to, DHS
29Form I-247N.

30(g) “Transfer request” means an Immigration and Customs
31Enforcement request that a local law enforcement agency facilitate
32the transfer of an individual in its custody to ICE, and includes,
33but is not limited to, DHS Form I-247X.

begin delete
34

7283.1.  

(a) A local law enforcement agency shall have the
35discretion to provide ICE access to an individual if all of the
36following conditions are met:

37(1) The agency would have discretion to detain the individual
38on the basis of an immigration hold request pursuant to Section
397282.5.

P6    1(2) The agency would not violate any local law or policy by
2providing access to the individual.

3(3) The individual has been served with a copy of any ICE hold,
4transfer, or notification request issued for him or her and has been
5provided with

end delete
6begin insert

begin insert7283.1.end insert  

end insert

begin insert(a)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertIn advance of any interview between ICE and an
7individual in local law enforcement custody regarding civil
8immigration violations, the local law enforcement entity shall
9provide the individual withend insert
a written consent formbegin delete in advance of
10any interview with ICEend delete
that explains the purpose of the interview,
11that the interview is voluntary, and that he or she may decline to
12be interviewed or may choose to be interviewed only with his or
13her attorney present.begin insert The written consent form shall be available
14in English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Korean.
15The written consent form shall also be available in any additional
16languages that meet the county threshold as defined in subdivision
17(d) of Section 128552 of the Health and Safety Code if certified
18translations in those languages are made available to the local
19law enforcement agency at no cost.end insert

20(b) begin insertUpon receiving any ICE hold, notification, or transfer
21request, the local law enforcement agency shall provide a copy of
22the request to the individual and inform him or her whether the
23law enforcement agency intends to comply with the request.end insert
If a
24local law enforcement agency provides ICE with notification that
25an individual is being, or will be, released on a certain date, the
26local law enforcement agency shall promptly provide the same
27notification in writing to the individual and to his or her attorney
28or to one additional person who the individual shall be permitted
29to designate.

30(c) All records relating to ICE access provided by local law
31enforcement agencies, including all communication withbegin delete ICE about
32that accessend delete
begin insert ICE,end insert shall be public records for purposes of the
33California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
34Section 6250)),begin delete except that, where otherwiseend deletebegin insert including the
35exemptions provided by that act and, asend insert
permitted underbegin delete the Public
36Records Act,end delete
begin insert that act,end insert personal identifying information may be
37redacted prior to public disclosure.begin insert Records relating to ICE access
38include, but are not limited to, data maintained by the local law
39enforcement agency regarding the number and demographic
40characteristics of individuals to whom the agency has provided
P7    1ICE access, the date ICE access was provided, and whether the
2ICE access was provided through a hold, transfer, or notification
3request or through other means.end insert

4(d) Beginning January 1, 2018, the local governing body of any
5county, city, or city and county in which a local law enforcement
6agency has provided ICE access to an individual during the last
7year shall hold at least one community forum during the following
8year, that is open to the public, in an accessible location, and with
9at least 30 days’ notice to provide information to the public about
10ICE’s access to individuals and to receive and consider public
11comment.begin delete At the community forum, the local law enforcement
12agency shall report to the local governing body about its policies
13and practices regarding ICE access to individuals and its
14compliance with this chapter.end delete
As part of thisbegin delete report,end deletebegin insert forum,end insert the
15local law enforcement agencybegin delete shallend deletebegin insert mayend insert provide the governing
16body withbegin delete any and allend delete data it maintains regarding the number and
17demographic characteristics of individuals to whom the agency
18has provided ICE access, the date ICE access was provided, and
19whether the ICE access was provided through a hold, transfer, or
20notification request or through other means.begin insert Data may be provided
21in the form of statistics or, if statistics are not maintained,
22individual records, provided that personally identifiable
23information shall be redacted.end insert

24

7283.2.  

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to provide,
25expand, or ratify the legal authority of any state or local law
26enforcement agency to detain an individual based upon an ICE
27hold request.

begin delete
28

7283.3.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
29police and security departments of the California State University,
30California Community Colleges, schools, and school districts shall
31not provide ICE access to any individual.

32(b) The University of California is requested to comply with
33this section.

end delete
34

SEC. 4.  

The Legislature finds and declares that Section 3 of
35this act, which adds Chapter 17.2 (commencing with Section 7283)
36to Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, furthers, within
37the meaning of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of
38Article I of the California Constitution, the purposes of that
39constitutional section as it relates to the right of public access to
40the meetings of local public bodies or the writings of local public
P8    1officials and local agencies. Pursuant to paragraph (7) of
2subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California
3Constitution, the Legislature makes the following findings:

4By requiring public meetings relating to the manner in which
5local law enforcement entities cooperate with federal authorities
6in enforcing federal immigration laws and making related
7documents open to public inspection, this act furthers the purposes
8of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the
9California Constitution.

10

SEC. 5.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
11Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
12the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
13district under this act would result from a legislative mandate that
14is within the scope of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section
153 of Article I of the California Constitution.



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