IMMIGRATION: Gov. Jerry Brown signs TRUST Act

Gov. Jerry Brown this morning signed into law the TRUST Act, which will prevent police from handing over many nonviolent jail inmates to immigration authorities for possible deportation.

The governor also signed seven other immigration-related bills into law, including one that allows undocumented immigrants to practice law in California.

“While Washington waffles on immigration, California’s forging ahead,” Brown said in a statement. “I’m not waiting.”

The signings came as immigrant-rights supporters in the Inland area and across the country are rallying to push the House to pass a comprehensive immigration-reform bill with a path to citizenship. A San Bernardino march and rally is scheduled for this morning, and a Riverside rally, march and immigration Mass are slated for this afternoon.

On Thursday, Brown signed into law a bill granting driver’s licenses to many undocumented immigrants.

The TRUST Act was one of the top goals of immigrant-rights and Latino groups this year. Brown vetoed last year’s version of the bill, ]saying it did not make enough crimes eligible for immigration holds.

This year, Brown’s office worked with the bill’s author, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, to craft a version the governor was comfortable with. The revised bill encompass more offenses, including any that would lead to state prison sentences.

Supporters of the bill say local law enforcement agencies shouldn’t help immigration authorities in the deportation of people who only have been accused of – and in many cases not convicted of – minor offenses, such as riding a bicycle on the sidewalk or being drunk in public. They say the collaboration of law enforcement and immigration authorities makes it less likely immigrants will report crimes to police.

But the California State Sheriffs’ Association opposed the bill, saying it is too vague and would lead to the release of violent criminals.

Last week, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon came out against the bill because he believes “it is not appropriate for a local agency to not comply with a federal mandate,” said Deputy Lolita Harper, the sheriff’s liaison to the Hispanic community.

Advocates of the bill argue there is no conflict. They point to a December statement by California Attorney General Kamala Harris that sheriffs are not legally required to honor requests for immigration holds.

Opponents also argued that some of the offenses the revised bill exempts from immigration holds – such as some drug and domestic-violence offenses – are serious enough to warrant immigration holds.

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