Item 21 - Assembly Bill 937 (the “VISION Act”)

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AB 937 Page 18 immigration violations are used to help bring the major criminal operations to justice. Existing law, which we helped negotiate and was agreed to by all sides, allows for these operations so long as 1) the primary purpose of the task force is not immigration enforcement, 2) the investigative duties are primarily related to crimes unrelated to immigration enforcement, and 3) participation in the task force does not violate state or local laws. . . . SB 937 undercuts these very deliberately crafted statutes and does so to the detriment of public safety. Similarly, Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC) writes that it “cannot support a State bill that forces our States public safety officers to stand by while our federal counterparts are injured or killed in the performance of their duties.” PORAC goes on to say that, “if the federal government requires our involvement, such as temporarily housing an undocumented arrestee, then it is our responsibility to adhere to the needs of the federal government.” The California State Sheriffs Association, on the other hand, takes particular issue with the bill’s elimination of “the requirement that an offender’s place of birth be included in basic information stored in state or local criminal offender record information systems [because it] will make that information less accurate and less useful to the stakeholders that rely upon that information, irrespective of whether the person is subject to any immigration enforcement action.” Related Prior Legislation: AB 2596 (Bonta), of the 2019-2020 Legislative Session, would have eliminated the existing ability for law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration authorities by giving them notification of release for inmates or fac ilitating inmate transfers. AB 2596 was never heard in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. AB 2948 (Allen), of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session, would have repealed the California Values Act SB 54, which defines the circumstances under which law enforcement agencies may assist in the enforcement of federal immigration laws and participate in joint law enforcement task forces. AB 2948 failed passage in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. AB 2931 (Patterson), of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session, would have expanded the list of qualifying criminal convictions which permit law enforcement to cooperate with fe deral immigration authorities. AB 2931 failed passage in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. AB 298 (Gallagher), of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session, would have repealed the TRUST Act and required law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration by detaining an individual convicted of a felony for up to 48 hours on an immigration hold, as specified, after the person became eligible for release from custody. AB 298 failed passage in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. AB 1252 (Allen), of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session, would have repealed the TRUST Act and prohibited state grants to county and local “sanctuary jurisdictions.” AB 1252 failed passage in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. SB 54 (De Leon), Chapter 495, Statutes of 2017, limited the involvement of state and local law enforcement agencies in federal immigration enforcement.