Bill > AB4

This bill establishes new standards for state and local law enforcement agencies in California regarding cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, specifically concerning immigration holds, which are requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain individuals beyond their eligibility for release from criminal custody. The bill aims to address concerns that the federal Secure Communities program places an undue burden on local agencies without reimbursement and that immigration detainers lack the legal safeguards of criminal warrants, sometimes leading to erroneous detentions. It clarifies that law enforcement officials have discretion to honor an immigration hold only if the continued detention does not violate any laws or local policies and if the individual has been convicted of certain serious or violent felonies, other specified felonies or misdemeanors, is a current registrant on the Sex and Arson Registry, or is arrested for a serious felony and probable cause is found by a magistrate. The bill also allows for cooperation if the individual is convicted of a federal aggravated felony or is the subject of an outstanding federal felony arrest warrant. If none of these conditions are met, individuals are not to be detained on an immigration hold after becoming eligible for release.