The New Year brings hope to many immigrants especially to those residing in the State of California. A series of legislation relating to immigration were signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in October 2013 and took effect at the beginning of this year. The undocumented immigrants residing in California may now have limited rights and protections that they may avail of against unscrupulous employers. With certain exceptions, voluntary requests by immigration authorities to local law police to hold an undocumented immigrant in jail is now prohibited in California.
Secure Communities Program
Among the many programs that the Department of Homeland Security established since 2008 is the Secure Communities that deputizes local and state enforcement officers as immigration agents.
The way Secure Communities work is that ICE “requests” local police to put a hold on immigrants in custody if these immigrants are potentially subject to deportation. As soon as they are identified as “undocumented” immigrants, the local cops will continue to detain these immigrants until the ICE takes them into custody. In many instances, undocumented immigrants identified by local police are non-violent and are charged with simple misdemeanors. To allow ICE to take them into custody will result in separation them from their families despite having sufficient ties in the United States. The Secure Communities is also considered harmful to the State’s community policing efforts considering that immigrant residents who are victims or crimes including domestic violence are less likely to report a crime or cooperate with the police. Realizing the negative impact of this program, the California State took concrete action to exempt itself from this program.
California TRUST Act: Limited Deportation
Beginning January 1, 2014, undocumented immigrants will be afforded protection from the Secure Communities program. Local police in the State of California will no longer act as immigration agents after the enactment of the Transparency and Responsibility Using State Tools (TRUST) Act. Under the provisions of this legislation, local police are prohibited from honoring “requests” by ICE for detainers unless the undocumented immigrant has been convicted of a serious crime or a violent felony. California defers enforcement of immigration law to the federal government and refuses to use its resources honoring ICE requests to hold undocumented immigrants.
The TRUST Act is a welcome development among the immigrant community. With limited “deportation” protections to the undocumented, local law enforcement agencies may concentrate on performing their primary duty of ensuring public safety in their communities.
Protecting the Undocumented Workers
Aside from the TRUST Act, there are series of legislation in the State of California that protects an undocumented employee from immigration-based retaliation. The series of anti-retaliation legislation are now in effect beginning January 1, 2014. Employers are prohibited from reporting or threatening to report an employee’s immigration status to the ICE because of an employee’s act of exercising a right under the California Labor Code. If for instance an undocumented worker files a complaint about unpaid wages or hours worked against an employer, the latter is prohibited from reporting the employee, who complained, to the immigration authorities. If the employer violates this prohibition, he risks possible revocation of business license.
Also, employees who have been victims of immigration-based retaliation may sue their employers for reinstatement and unpaid wages. If found guilty, employers may face civil fines of up to $10,000 per violation including suspension of their business licenses.
All these protections are good news to undocumented immigrants residing in California. But the real solution for the millions of undocumented immigrant is still the enactment of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Hopefully, this year we will witness its eventual passage into law.
(Atty. Lourdes Tancinco may be reached at law@tancinco.com or at 1 888 930 0808 or visit her website at tancinco.weareph.com/old)
