Immigrants selling food, flowers and other merchandise along the sidewalks of California will have new privacy protections intended to keep their identities secret from federal immigration agents.
The measure, signed into law this past week by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, comes on the heels of other recently enacted state laws meant to shield students in schools and patients at health care facilities from the reach of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement actions.
Democratic-led states are adding laws resisting Trump even as he intensifies his deportation campaign by seeking to deploy National Guard troops to Democratic-led cities to reinforce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who are arresting people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.
By contrast, some Republican-led states are requiring local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with ICE agents.
“The actions of the states really reflect the polarization of the country on this issue,” said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports immigration restrictions. “We have seen some states move to cooperate to the greatest extent that they possibly can” with Trump’s administration and others “doing what they can to try to thwart immigration enforcement in their state.”
Across the U.S, state lawmakers this year have passed more than 100 bills relating to immigration, according to an Associated Press analysis. The measures are divided almost evenly between those providing and denying protections to immigrants.
California is shielding immigrant information
Immigrants comprise a significant portion of California’s urban sidewalk vendors. Some have been swept up in immigration enforcement actions, in part, because their outdoor work in public places makes them easier targets than people behind closed doors.
California’s street vendors typically need permits from cities or counties. The new law prohibits local governments from inquiring about vendors’ immigration status, requiring fingerprinting or disclosing personal information — name, address, birth date, social media identifiers and telephone, driver’s license and Social Security numbers, among other things — without a judicial subpoena.
The law, which will take effect Jan. 1, was prompted by concerns that vendor databases kept by local governments could be accessed by federal immigration agents to target people for detention and deportation.
“We’re talking about really security –- security for businesses, security for human beings, security for people who have gone through so much,” said Sergio Jimenez, a street vending organizer with the nonprofit Community Power Collective in Los Angeles.
Additional laws recently signed by Newsom add immigration status to a list of protected medical information and prohibit schools from granting access to immigration enforcement officials without a court warrant. Another new California law directs schools and higher education institutions to immediately notify staff and students or parents when immigration officials are on campus.
Democratic states create safe places for immigrants
Upon taking office, Trump reversed a policy restricting federal immigration agents from arresting people at sensitive locations such as schools, churches and hospitals. Like California, other Democratic-led states responded with laws attempting to create safe places for immigrants.
A Maryland law enacted earlier this year requires public schools, libraries and health care facilities to restrict access for immigration enforcement officials unless presented with a court warrant. Other states like Colorado and Oregon enacted similar measures.
States split on aiding federal immigration agents
In contrast, Republican-led states have passed numerous laws intended to bolster Trump’s immigration policies. New laws in Texas, Florida and Arkansas require sheriffs to enter into federal agreements to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, dramatically increasing the number of such agreements nationwide.
However, some Democratic-led states, including Delaware, have prohibited participation in these federal enforcement programs, signaling a clear divide in the national approach to immigration legislation.
Public benefits are a point of contention
In Washington, new state laws allow workers to take paid leave to attend immigration proceedings for themselves and prohibit employers from using immigration status to coerce employees, while some Republican-led states have restricted benefits for undocumented individuals.
College tuition discounts are diminishing
As immigration policies tighten, states have increasingly restricted access to in-state tuition for undocumented students, with California's recent measures also reflecting this shift.
