BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION Senator Isadore Hall, III Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: SB 10 Hearing Date: 4/28/15 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Lara | |-----------+-----------------------------------------------------| |Version: |12/1/2014 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant:|Felipe Lopez | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUBJECT: Immigration: Governor's Office of New Americans DIGEST: This bill establishes the Office of New Americans (ONA) in the Governor's office for the purpose of, among other things, coordinating an ongoing multiagency, multisector public and private effort to provide information and services to new Americans. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Establishes the Naturalization Services Program administered within the Department of Community Services and Development, to fund community based organizations in assisting legal permanent residents in obtaining citizenship. 2)Requires the Department of Community Services and Development to seek input from stakeholders in designing the methodology for the distribution of funds. 3)Specifies that the Naturalization Services Program shall be implemented to the extent that funds are appropriated by the annual Budget Act. 4)Prohibits licensing boards under the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) from denying licensure to an applicant based on his or her citizenship or immigration status, and requires a SB 10 (Lara) Page 2 of ? licensing board and the State Bar to require, by January 1, 2016, that an applicant for licensure provide his or her individual taxpayer identification number or a Social Security Number for an initial or renewal license. 5)Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue driver's licenses to persons who are ineligible for a Social Security Number if additional documentation is provided, as specified. 6)Prohibits a law enforcement officer from detaining an individual on the basis of a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold after that individual becomes eligible for release, unless the individual has been convicted of specified crimes. This bill: 1)Establishes the Office of New Americans (ONA) in the Governor's office. 2)Specifies that the duties of the ONA shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following: a) Coordinating an ongoing multiagency, multisector public and private effort to provide accurate, accessible information and services to new Americans. b) Overseeing the creation of a statewide plan for the coordination and implementation of any presidential executive action on immigration reform or federal comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). c) Providing outreach, education, and fraud prevention services to ensure that the new American population has accurate information relating to eligibility requirements with regard to presidential executive action, CIR, federal deferred action childhood arrivals (DACA), and other policies, and where to obtain reputable application assistance and legal services. d) Providing citizenship application assistance, legal services, and English and civics instruction. e) Monitoring the implementation of the following: i) DACA and any other presidential executive action on immigration reform or CIR. ii) Chapter 524 of the Statutes of 2013 (Assembly bill SB 10 (Lara) Page 3 of ? 60 of the 2013-14 Regular Session). AB 60 requires the DMV to issue driver's licenses to persons who are ineligible for a Social Security Number if additional documentation is provided, as specified. iii) Chapter 17.1 (commencing with Section 7281) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, commonly referred to as the TRUST Act. The TRUST Act prohibits a law enforcement official form detaining an individual on the basis of a United State Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold after that individual becomes eligible for release, unless the individual has been convicted of specified crimes. iv) Chapter 752 of the Statutes of 2014 (Senate Bill 1159 of the 2013-14 Regular Sessions). SB 1159 prohibits licensing boards under the DCA from denying licensure to an applicant based on his or her citizenship or immigration status, and requires a licensing board and the State Bar to require, by January 1, 2016, that an applicant for licensure provide his or her individual taxpayer identification number or a Social Security Number for an initial or renewal license. f) Creating neighborhood based connections between new Americans and their communities through civic engagement and other opportunities. g) Marshaling resources to fund these efforts. 3)Makes various legislative findings pertaining to the immigrant population in California. Background Purpose of the bill: According to the author while five states and two California cities have created offices of immigrant affairs, there is still a lack of a statewide office to coordinate and advise on immigrant integration policies in the state of California. The author further argues that while programs in Los Angeles and Santa Clara provide some assistance to new American immigrants, there is much more the state can do to modernize and streamline programs, and support regions with limited resources that will be ready to help implement administrative relief for the estimated 1 million Californians that are eligible under the federal deferred action programs. SB 10 (Lara) Page 4 of ? The author states that SB 10 will ensure California is ready to implement administrative relief and immigrant integration policies. New Americans in California: According to the Public Policy Institute in California (PPIC), California is home to more than 10 million immigrants, which accounts to roughly 25% of the foreign born population nationwide. Foreign born residents represented more than 30% of the population of seven California Counties: Santa Clara, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Mateo, Imperial, Alameda, and Orange. The PPIC estimates that half of the children in California have at least one immigrant parent. According to the PPIC the vast majority, roughly 53%, of California's immigrant population were born in Latin America and 37% were born in Asia. While California has sizable populations of immigrants from dozens of countries; Mexico has by far the most with an estimated 4.3 million immigrants, followed by the Philippines at 812,000 and China with 760,700 immigrants. However, more than 53% of those arriving in California between 2007 and 2011 were born in Asia and only 31% came from Latin America. In a May 2013 report titled "Immigrants in California," the PPIC found that California's foreign-born residents are more likely to be in the civilian labor force than U.S. born residents. The report found that in 2011, 66% of immigrants were in the labor force, compared to 62% of the US born population. However, the report also found that the median income for households with foreign-born householders was roughly 21% lower than that for households with U.S. born householders. Finally, the report found that foreign born residents are more likely than the U.S. born population to live in poverty. Of the 10 million immigrants in California, roughly 47% are naturalized U.S. citizens, and another 26% have some other legal status including green cards and visas. The Department of Homeland Security estimates that roughly 27% of immigrants in California are undocumented. While the exact number of undocumented immigrants is impossible to determine because they are not directly identified in censuses or national surveys, most experts agree that there are approximately 2.6 million undocumented immigrants living in California. This represents almost a quarter (23%) of the SB 10 (Lara) Page 5 of ? nation's undocumented immigrants; by contrast, the state's share of the nation's overall population is roughly about 13%. While 23% is significant, the overall share of undocumented immigrants in California has dramatically decreased. As a reference, in the 1980s, almost half of the nations undocumented immigrants lived in California. Unlike some states where undocumented immigrants are found only in a few large urban centers, immigrants both legal and undocumented in California are found in all of California's large urban areas and in most rural areas. Los Angeles County has the highest number of undocumented immigrants (900,000) of any county in the state, followed by Orange County (300,000), San Diego County (180,000) and Santa Clara County (170,000). In total however, 12 of California's counties have more than 50,000 undocumented immigrants. Roughly 10% of California workers are undocumented immigrants, approximately 1.85 million, compared to about 5% nationwide. Undocumented immigrants work disproportionately in the farming, construction, production, services, and transportation industries Undocumented Immigrant's Tax Contributions: An April 2015 report by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy titled "Undocumented Immigrants' State & Local Tax Contributions," found that undocumented immigrants contribute significantly to state and local taxes. The report found that the 11.4 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States collectively paid an estimated $11.84 billion in 2012 in state and local taxes. In California, undocumented immigrants paid more than $3.2 billion in state and local taxes. Furthermore the report found that undocumented immigrants' nationwide average effective state and local tax rate, the share of income they pay in state and local taxes, in 2012 is an estimated 8 percent. According to the report, if the federal government granted lawful permanent residence to all 11.4 million undocumented immigrants and allowed them to work in the United States legally, this would increase their state and local tax contributions by an estimated $2.2 billion a year. SB 10 (Lara) Page 6 of ? Federal Deferred Action: On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced the Deferred Action for Parents for Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), which authorizes undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States since 2010 and have children who are American citizens or lawful permanent residents to apply for temporary reprieve from deportation and a three year, renewable work permit. The program will be administered on a case-by-case basis for individuals that meet specific guidelines, including a thorough background check. President Obama also announced an expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for youth who came to the United States as children. When initially announced in 2012, DACA allowed certain undocumented immigrants who entered the country before their 16th birthday and before June 2007 to receive a renewable two-year work permit and exemption from deportation. The expansion announced in November of 2014 expanded DACA to include undocumented immigrants who entered before 2010, eliminate the requirement that applicants be younger than 31 years old, and lengthen the renewable deferral period to three years. The Pew Research Center estimated that this would increase the number of eligible individuals by about 330,000. According to the Department of Homeland Security, these two programs are expected to help out 4.4 million people in the United States and an estimated 1 million undocumented immigrants in California. Currently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is not accepting applications for the expanded DACA and the DAPA. A federal district court in Texas has issued an order that temporarily blocks DAPA and the expanded DACA from being implemented. However, USCIS continues to accept renewal applications or initial applications from people who qualify under the initial DACA announcement in 2012. Prior/Related Legislation SB 1159 (Lara), Chapter 752, Statutes of 2014. The bill prohibited licensing boards under the DCA from denying licensure to an applicant based on his or her citizenship or immigration status, and required a licensing board and the State Bar to require, by January 1, 2016, that an applicant for licensure SB 10 (Lara) Page 7 of ? provide his or her individual taxpayer identification number or a Social Security Number for an initial or renewal license. AB 4 (Ammiano), Chapter 570, Statutes of 2013. The bill prohibited a law enforcement official form detaining an individual on the basis of a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold after that individual becomes eligible for release, unless the individual has been convicted of specified crimes. AB 60 (Alejo), Chapter 524, Statutes of 2013. The bill required the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue driver's licenses to persons who are ineligible for a Social Security Number if additional documentation is provided, as specified. AB 131 (Cedillo), Chapter 604, Statutes of 2011. The bill established the California Dream Act, expanding eligibility for financial aid, beginning January 1, 2013, to students who qualify for the existing exemption from non-resident tuition. AB 130 (Cedillo), Chapter 93, Statutes of 2011. The bill required, beginning January 1, 2012, that AB 540 students attending the California State University, the California Community Colleges, or the University of California be eligible to receive a scholarship derived from non-state funds at the segment where the student is enrolled. AB 2060 (De La Torre) Chapter 515, Statutes of 2006. The bill established the Naturalization Services Program (NSP) within the Department of Community Services and Development. The NSP was established to provide funding to community-based organizations to assist legal permanent residents in obtaining citizenship. AB 540 (Firebaugh), Chapter 814, Statutes of 2001. The bill authorized undocumented students who meet specified high school enrollment requirements to pay instate tuition at public colleges and universities. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT: Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles SB 10 (Lara) Page 8 of ? Silicon Valley Community Foundation OPPOSITION: We the People Rising The Remembrance Project ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) states that, "California is home to the biggest population of immigrants and while our state has enacted landmark legislation to support immigrants in our state, it has not created a comprehensive approach to ensure that immigrant populations are part of the civic and economic life in our state. CHIRLA further argues that in light of the recent actions by President Obama to provide immigration relief to more than 5 million undocumented families, with 1.6 million of those families residing in the Golden State, it is prudent that the State is prepared to assist immigrants who would be eligible for potential legalization programs." ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: We the People Rising writes in opposition to the bill claiming that the bill provides for offices that will exclude Californians not classified as "New Americans" from government provided services. They further argue that passage of the bill would be discrimination that unfairly targets California citizens who are not classified with the "New American" status.