California’s Governor Jerry Brown got ahead of President Trump revocation of the DACA Law by signing more than three dozen bills into law on Friday, September 1. Among the 40 pieces of legislation that the Governor approved was a bill designed to protect undocumented immigrants who assist law enforcement in solving a crime. AB 493 prohibits police from detaining or turning over an individual who is a crime victim or witness “exclusively for any actual or suspected immigration violation.”
Assemblyman Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, authored AB 493. “We need to remove the fear and uncertainty that is rampant in our immigrant communities and provide protection to undocumented individuals when they seek to cooperate with law enforcement on any crime,” he said.
Jones-Sawyer touted the bill as a way of making California safer for everyone.
“By preventing witnesses and victims of crimes from being detained and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), it will help law enforcement with their investigations and will promote social responsibility and improve police community relationships,” he said.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also weighed in on President Trump’s latest anti immigration proposal. “Last week, President Trump pardoned Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a bigot who was found in criminal contempt of court, and this week he ended a program that benefits primarily Latinos brought here at a young age. By ending DACA – and thus denies the dreams and the contributions of these hard-working and highly productive young Americans – there can only be one reason raw bigotry.
