“Sanctuary city” laws meant to reassure unauthorized immigrants that local officials welcome their presence are kind and big-hearted. Policies intended to encourage unauthorized immigrants to report crimes to local police without fear of consequence are effective and humane. The Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration has the potential to disrupt the lives of millions of U.S. residents who have been productive, law-abiding members of their communities, people who deserve a chance to become citizens after Congress finally passes comprehensive immigration reform.

Yet it is possible to believe all of these things and still be wary of SB 54, a bill touted by Senate leader Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, to make California a “sanctuary state.” In its initial form, what de León calls the “California Values Act” amounted to the state’s formal declaration of noncooperation with the federal government when it comes to federal immigration laws. The measure’s main provision would “prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies, including school police and security departments, from using resources to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect or arrest persons for immigration enforcement purposes.” After criticism from law enforcement officials, de León amended the bill to allow Sheriff’s Departments to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the release from local jails of certain types of serious and violent felons; to allow law enforcement officers to notify ICE if they encountered someone with a violent felony record who had previously been deported; and to make it clear that local and state law enforcement authorities could be part of investigatory task forces led by federal agencies even if immigration enforcement were involved.

After the changes were made, de León’s bill passed the state Senate 27-12 on Monday on a party-line vote. Democrats, many of them Latino, celebrated the approval as sending President Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and other immigration hardliners a defiant, principled message that California stands with its immigrant community.


But these Democrats muddle their message by refusing to take seriously concerns about their attempts to make distinctions between bad felons — take them away — and allegedly not-so-bad felons — let them stay. According to Assembly Republicans, the latter category includes people convicted of assault with a deadly weapon, human trafficking and other significant crimes.

As the Los Angeles Times’ George Skelton noted in an insightful March 30 column, Assembly Democrats would rather talk about how awful Trump is than address this problem. The column focused on AB 298, a bill introduced by Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, to allow local authorities to detain any unauthorized felon who was eligible for release from custody for up to 48 hours for possible deportation by federal immigration agents. The measure was rejected on a party-line vote by the Assembly Public Safety Committee without Democrats explaining their curious felon hairsplitting.

There are other reasons to be wary of de León’s bill as well. It could prompt an unprecedented crackdown by the Trump administration on a state whose attorney general, Xavier Becerra, calls federal attempts to enforce federal laws “unconstitutional overreach.” Given how much California Democrats dislike Trump for his immigration policy and many other reasons, that might be a risk they’re willing to take.

But one risk they shouldn’t take is offering protection to convicted felons who are unauthorized immigrants. They haven’t earned the compassionate treatment that de León hopes to provide.


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