The California Values Act, SB 54, often called the “Sanctuary Law,” was, historically, enacted with noble intentions by ensuring that undocumented immigrants could report crimes without fear of immigration reprisal. Unfortunately, in actual practice, SB 54 has led to a complete lack of transparency and only protects criminals.
SB 54 prohibits nearly all cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. While it may feel like a moral stand, the unintended consequences are such that the federal agents now need to cast a broad net rather than a criminal-targeted one. Does anyone, and I mean anyone, believe that we shouldn’t vet the 900 or so criminals in our County Jail to see if they are dangerous undocumented felons? And, how about the recent stabbing on State Street? Should it matter if one of those involved turns out to be undocumented with a prior criminal history? I only ask the question. One very clear thing is that the vulnerable communities this law tried to protect are the very ones being most victimized by it.
We recently saw this in Carpinteria and Camarillo. Federal officers carried out criminal warrants, but without coordination with local officials, the operations ended up capturing everyone nearby, regardless of their status or offense. This included trafficked children, previously convicted felons, and our law-abiding friends and neighbors who have been here for decades, simply trying to provide a better life for their families. All these things can be true at once; it’s not binary. When no one knows who the actual targets are because no one is allowed to ask, the net is cast wider than it should be. The result is confusion, fear, and trauma that cooperation could have been prevented.
Indeed, our community leaders appear to wear their non-cooperation as a badge of honor or, worse, as a way to animate their politics. At city council and county board meetings statewide, residents have requested basic transparency and communication, which I have heard personally across the Central Coast at council meetings. Frankly, it was surreal and naïve for particular supervisors to ask whether ICE could be brought before them to answer questions. The ineptitude of the idea was hammered home when they were left with the only viable option, one we all have, which was to file a Freedom of Information Act request. Talk about being on the outside looking in.
The truth is, under SB 54, neither victims nor advocates can get the whole picture. Our sheriff can’t clarify what happened. Our district attorney can’t coordinate. Our public defender can’t prepare. Even social workers can’t offer proper support because they’re cut out of the loop. When we remove coordination and oversight, we also remove fairness. We leave immigrants at the mercy of rumor, confusion, and fear. We leave our citizens with partisan rhetoric aimed at each other instead of the verified truth.
Into that void, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) step in, often well-meaning but entirely unaccountable. With no legal obligation for full financial disclosure, which we’ve seen as a problem with the fire recovery and homelessness NGO funds in CA, they’ve become the de facto response system for undocumented immigrant support. In short, our sanctuary status inflames and expands the problem that our tax dollars and these NGOs are asked to fix. How about a bit more cooperation and a bit less need to “fix”?
The good news is that we can make a change by demanding that our State Senator, Monique Limón, push for a repeal of SB 54. We can then empower Santa Barbara County to form a formal task force, led by the Sheriff, DA, Public Defender, and community members, to ensure that essential services and transparency are provided. I have personally seen the Santa Barbara County Public Defender speak, and I have the utmost confidence in her ability to develop a process for providing proper legal representation on-site, working in communication with federal authorities. So, whether at the state level or county level, we need to craft a policy that offers up undocumented criminals and protects hard-working, law-abiding folks who have been here for decades.
As a candidate for Congress, running against Salud Carbajal in California’s 24th Congressional District, I am committed to bipartisan solutions, solutions that don’t involve camera-worthy performative antics but instead understand that “a little less noise and a little more light” will provide our community with a thoughtful path forward. Can we please stop binary rhetoric and begin the dialogue?
