Responding to concerns frequently expressed by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye (see recently here and here), legislation introduced yesterday in the state Senate would make it illegal in many situations for federal immigration agents to enter California courthouses and other state-owned buildings. (Technically, the legislation — Senate Bill 183 — was not “introduced” yesterday; it’s a gut-and-amend bill.)
The Legislative Counsel’s digest summarizes the bill, saying it “would prohibit federal immigration enforcement agents, officers, or personnel from entering a building owned and occupied, or leased and occupied, by the state, a public school, or a campus of the California Community Colleges, to perform surveillance, effectuate an arrest, or question an individual therein, without a valid federal warrant.”
Echoing the Chief Justice’s statements (e.g., here), SB 183 includes a declaration that “[t]he presence of federal immigration enforcement agents or personnel in various state buildings or facilities in which immigrant community members appear to report violations of state laws or regulations will serve to discourage them from reporting those violations, against the public interest of all Californians.”