El Dorado County DA sends letter to California attorney general for clarification on immigration laws
EL DORADO COUNTY -- A local district attorney penned a letter to California's attorney general asking for clarification on an existing state law that he says contradicts federal law as the Trump administration cracks on illegal immigration and requires compliance with federal immigration mandates.
"We are essentially put in a catch-22," Vern Pierson, district attorney of El Dorado County, told CBS13.
Pierson is asking Bonta to issue a legal opinion with clear direction explaining how local law enforcement departments statewide should respond because, "Without comprehensive guidance from your office, there is significant risk of inconsistent application of the law, which could have far-reaching consequences for our communities and the criminal justice system," Pierson's letter reads.
The California Values Act, Senate Bill 54, became state law in 2018 and solidified California as a sanctuary state. It ensures no state or local agency can help with federal immigration enforcement.
Under the law, police and sheriffs cannot legally ask about for a person's immigration status, arrest someone for having a deportation order or share anyone's personal information with ICE unless it is publicly available.
The law also states that courthouses, hospitals and schools are community safe spaces.
However, President Trump's Department of Justice guidelines, "require strict compliance with federal mandates on immigration-related information sharing and enforcement. Local law enforcement are left in a precarious position, uncertain about how to fulfill their federal obligations without violating state law," Pierson's letter reads.
Attorney General Rob Bonta did not respond to CBS13's request for comment Tuesday, but Bonta has responded to Trump's immigration policies in the days leading up to and following his inauguration.
"We want to focus on enforcing the criminal laws of the state of California, arresting and prosecuting criminals, not be involved in civil immigration enforcement. I think our roles are clear," Bonta recently stated.
Pierson's point is that the roles are not clear.
He says, consider this scenario: in a state rocked by the fentanyl crisis, if a dealer or trafficker who is in the country illegally were arrested and released on drug crimes in El Dorado County, Pierson says sheriff's deputies cannot under state law help federal officials detain that person or provide any non-public information.
"If I were to notify ICE or the federal officials of that release according to the author of SB 54 [former state legislator Kevin de Leon] I should be criminally prosecuted for that. Notwithstanding the fact that I am obligated under federal law to help with that, my people are as well," said Pierson.
Pierson acknowledges that criminal prosecution of local enforcement is only an interpretation of this state law.
It's why he is asking the attorney general for definitive answers as he also writes in his letter to Bonta that he worries, "Local agencies in California could face devastating funding losses if deemed non-compliant."
Pierson says losing critical criminal justice grants would be devastating to departments statewide.
"There is a very, very high likelihood that hundreds of millions of dollars are potentially going to be withheld by the federal government because of our insistence on adhering to the sanctuary state rule," said Pierson.
SB 54 has been challenged in the Ninth Circuit federal court in the past and was upheld. Pierson argues the legal standing is shaky and that the Trump administration is likely to successfully strike it down in court.