Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 20 signed what he called the nation’s strongest protections against federal immigration enforcement tactics, aimed at shielding children in schools and patients in hospitals from Trump-era “secret police” raids.
Newsom signed the legislation at the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex — a compound housing four specialized public high schools — in Los Angeles.
The new laws prohibit federal officers, including ICE, from concealing their identities by requiring visible badge or name and restrict immigration enforcement in classrooms and nonpublic hospital areas without a judicial warrant. They also require school administrators to notify families when enforcement occurs on campus.
“Public safety depends on trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve — but Trump and Miller have shattered that trust and spread fear across America,” Newsom said. “California is putting an end to it and making sure schools and hospitals remain what they should be: places of care, not chaos.”
First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom said the measures protect families who live in fear of deportation.
“Our places of learning and healing must never be turned into the hunting grounds this federal administration has tried to make them out to be,” she said.
Lawmakers echoed her sentiment, with Assemblymember Mike Fong (D-Alhambra) noting that AAPI communities are among the most impacted, and Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) calling the package “a major win for our communities” that sets “important guardrails so that immigrant families can feel safe whether they are at school, at the doctor, or in their own neighborhood.”
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Article Written By: Bo Tefu, California Black Media