Oppose AB 1708

I write to ask you to oppose AB 1708, which repeals California’s existing law prohibiting local law enforcement from holding immigrant community members for extra time for immigration enforcement purposes beyond their scheduled release date in response to a voluntary immigration detainer request (also known as hold requests). AB 1708 would undercut the values of immigrant inclusion and racial equity that motivated the legislature to pass the existing law.  Starting in 2013, California began disentangling state and local public safety resources from the federal deportation system, after recognizing that this entanglement furthers fears in immigrant communities, encourages racial profiling, separates immigrant families, singles out immigrants for double punishment, and undermines due process rights.  The TRUST Act (AB 4, Ammiano, 2013) limited the detention of immigrant community members by local law enforcement to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with deportation. In 2018, after then President Trump was elected, the Legislature and Governor Brown enacted the California Values Act, (SB 54, de León, 2017) to set an example for the rest of the country by pushing back against the targeting and persecution of immigrants. The Values Act, which amongst other reforms, included a clear prohibition on local law enforcement responding to immigration detainer requests. California has already experienced the devastating fiscal and social impacts of local law enforcement collusion with ICE and has wisely set forth on a different course toward ending this entanglement in a manner that advances the values of inclusion, equity, and the well-being of all California residents. For all these reasons, I ask you to oppose AB 1708.