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AB 937 <br /> Page 5 <br />6) Provides that law enforcement agencies are able to participate in joint taskforces with the <br />federal government only if the primary purpose of the joint task force is not immigration <br />enforcement. Participating agencies must annually report to the California Department of <br />Justice (DOJ) if there were immigration arrests as a result of task force operations. (Gov. <br />Code, § 7284.6, subds. (b) & (c).) <br /> <br />7) Allows law enforcement agencies to respond to a request from immigration authorities for <br />information about a person’s criminal history. (Gov. Code, § 7284.6, subd. (b)(2).) <br /> <br />8) Allows law enforcement agencies to make inquiries into information necessary to certify an <br />individual who has been identified as a potential crime or trafficking victim for a T or U <br />Visa. (Gov. Code, § 7284.6, subds. (b)(4).) <br /> <br />9) Allows law enforcement agencies to give immigration authorities access to interview an <br />individual in agency custody if such access complies with the TRUTH Act. (Gov. Code, § <br />7284.6, subds. (b)(5).) <br /> <br />FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. <br /> <br />COMMENTS: <br /> <br />1) Author's Statement: According to the author, "AB 937 helps California realize its promise <br />of protecting immigrant rights and reforming our criminal justice system. Under current law <br />many individuals that have completed their sentence or have been deemed eligible for release <br />from a California jail or prison can face a second punishment in the immigration detention <br />system, solely because of where they were born. AB 937 will stop this arbitrary second <br />punishment where one has no right to legal representation, pretrial release, or a hearing from <br />a jury of their peers. Immigration Detainees can find themselves housed in county jails and <br />even private facilities anywhere in America, facilities beyond the oversight and <br />accountability of the state of California where abuse and neglect is well documented. All <br />Californians, regardless of citizenship status, should get the chance to reintegrate back into <br />their communities and reunite with their families when they have paid their debt to society.” <br /> <br />2) California Values Act: The Values Act, which became effective on January 1, 2018, limits <br />the involvement of state and local law enforcement agencies in federal immigration <br />enforcement. It prohibits law enforcement agencies (including school police and security <br />departments) from using resources to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, or arrest people <br />for immigration enforcement purposes. It also places limitations on the ways in which law <br />enforcement agencies can collaborate with federal task forces that involve elements of <br />immigration enforcement. Under the Values Act, CDCR is not considered a law <br />enforcement agency. <br /> <br />The Values Act was an expansion of prior state law, the TRUST Act which prohibited law <br />enforcement from honoring federal immigration holds unless the detainee had a criminal <br />history involving a serious or violent felony. <br /> <br />The Values Act contains some exceptions that allows law enforcement agencies to cooperate <br />with immigration authorities. Under the Values Act law enforcement is allowed to engage