Sacramento, CA – Yesterday evening, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed AB 1537, the No Side Jobs for ICE Act” authored by Asm. Isaac Bryan.
SEARAC is part of the ICE Out of CA coalition, which issued the following statement:
The first-in-the-nation bill, supported by a broad coalition of immigrant, civil rights, and labor organizations from across the state, including 17 City and County elected officials, would have ensured that police, sheriffs, and certain other law enforcement officers in the state could not take on secondary employment in any job that directly involves “engaging in arresting, detaining, transporting, or deporting” people under federal or out-of-state immigration laws. This prohibition would have applied whether the “side job” is with ICE, a private corporation, or with a law enforcement agency in another state which has enacted anti-immigration legislation.
Over 90 immigrant and civil rights organizations from across the state strongly supported AB 1537 because it would have closed a disturbing loophole in state law and brought urgently needed transparency.
Gov. Newsom’s veto of AB 1537 leaves Californians completely in the dark.
A handful of extreme sheriffs and other law enforcement associations opposed AB 1537, with some, like the San Bernardino Sheriff, making clear that they wished to maintain the authority to allow local officers to moonlight for ICE.
At the end of the day, we are forced to ask: what are they hiding? How many sheriffs and police are secretly moonlighting for ICE and abducting our neighbors? Now more than ever, we must uncover the truth.
We are grateful to Asm. Bryan for his powerful leadership as well as to community supporters across the state.
Quyên Đinh, SEARAC Executive Director, adds, “Southeast Asian Americans (SEAAs) came to California to rebuild their lives after surviving war, genocide, and persecution. Today, families who have called this state home for decades are facing displacement and separation from their families and communities once again. Gov. Newsom’s veto leaves open a loophole that allows local officers to take side jobs with ICE, undermining the trust our communities need to feel safe. SEAA families deserve a California that protects their future here through transparency about local officers’ ties to ICE and accountability for their actions.”
