Karla Guzman remembers the fear of deportation.
Police officers came to her home when she was 9 years old after someone had tried to break into her bedroom through the window.
Deportation invaded her thoughts when the officers responded to her home for the attempted break-in, she said. Guzman was 6 years old when she came to the United States 14 years ago. She took down a Mexican flag that hung in her room so they would not question whether she was from the United States.
“Even though what had happened wasn’t our fault,” she said, “I couldn’t shake the thought of the possibility that they would take us away or even worse.”
Guzman, an undocumented student at Chico State, was one of 37 students and community members who crowded the City Council chambers on Feb. 21 to ask the Council to consider discussing the possibility of becoming a sanctuary city.
Before the vote, undocumented students, who shared their legal status, and community members shared personal testimonies. They spoke about feeling unsafe in Chico in light of the election of President Donald Trump.
The proposal was defeated in a 4-3 vote.
Chico’s opportunity to become a sanctuary city may be gone, but undocumented community members may receive protections under a “Sanctuary State” bill sitting on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.
Lawmakers passed the bill to protect immigrants without legal residency in the U.S. It directs police to not work with federal immigration authorities.
Senate Bill 54, authored by Sen. Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, was approved in a 27-11 vote on Sept. 16. If signed by the governor, it would limit state and local law enforcement collaboration and communication with federal immigration authorities, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Sanctuary” is a term that has been used to describe cities that protect undocumented immigrants and refugees from deportation. Since President Trump’s inauguration, it has been used by states and cities that oppose his stance and actions on immigration.
Although Chico decided not to become a sanctuary city, Butte County has “sanctuary county” measures thanks to the TRUST Act of 2014.
The Oregon Legislature passed a similar sanctuary state bill in 1987, meaning California is not the first state to take this step.
However, “sanctuary state” bill is not SB 54’s actual title.
The “California Values Act,” its official name, would prevent law enforcement agencies, including school police and security departments, from questioning or holding people on immigration-related violations, unless they had violent or serious criminal convictions. It would also protect undocumented people from possible deportation.
The California State Sheriff’s Association, along with some Republican legislators, has vocally opposed the bill.
Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, is urging Gov. Brown to veto the sanctuary bill. Gallagher sent a letter to Brown a week ago that addresses concerns from law enforcement that the legislation endangers public safety.
Preventing local law enforcement from communicating with federal law enforcement, he wrote, sends a “negative message to law enforcement.”
“Our local law enforcement officers have never been in the business of enforcing immigration law,” Gallagher said. “However, when someone is in custody for committing a crime, we should not obstruct the work of federal immigration officers. This bill is not about protecting undocumented immigrants, it is about protecting criminals.”
Brown has until Oct. 15 to sign or veto the bill.
