When immigrants are not safe showing up to our courthouses to act as a witness, pay a fine, or file papers because they know there’s a risk they could be deported, the system is broken.
No human is illegal, and no one should be subject to civil arrest when trying to carry out legal business in our justice system.
I was proud to work with the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association and the Center for Humane Immigrant Rights in drafting Assembly Bill 668 this year to protect the fair administration of justice for all of our state’s residents. These organizations represent immigrants and know first-hand the need to protect these communities in the wake of President Trump’s increasingly aggressive anti-immigrant tactics.
We’ve seen how families have been ripped apart and placed in make-shift internment camps by these policies. We’ve seen the unnecessary damage caused by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) agents stalking both documented and undocumented workers at their jobs, in their homes and at our courthouses.
Assembly Bill 668 addresses the I.C.E. agency’s pattern of aggressive enforcement within California courthouses by ordering that no person shall be subject to civil arrest in a courthouse while attending a court proceeding or having legal business in the courthouse.
Make no mistake, the threat of civil arrest is very real in California. Recently, I.C.E. agents targeted a Monterey County superior court building and arrested a man after he entered the building with his family.
When immigrant communities are fearful of going to court, their access to justice is denied.
The removal of threat from civil arrest at courthouses will reassure members of the immigrant community that they should report violations of state laws or regulations, and encourage these individuals to participate in court proceedings, which serves the public interest of all Californians.
Immigrants are valuable members of the California community and essential to our unique multi-cultural fabric. No matter how many holding facilities are built, or whether or not a wall is constructed along our southern border, employers throughout California and the nation – farmers in particular – will continue to employ undocumented workers for cheap labor. And we, as consumers of produce grown almost anywhere in America, will continue to benefit from their hard work.
I applaud and thank the bill’s sponsoring organizations, my fellow lawmakers and Governor Gavin Newsom for helping to enact this common-sense and humane approach to help ensure that all Californians are able to access their legal rights.
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez represents the 80th District which includes Chula Vista and National City.
