LOS ANGELES, CA – President Donald Trump is renewing his push to dismantle California’s sanctuary state law, a policy designed to limit local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Shortly after returning to the Oval Office, Trump signed an executive order titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” which aims to cut federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions nationwide, a move that could have significant financial repercussions for California.
The state’s sanctuary law, formally known as the California Values Act, was signed into law in 2017 by then-Governor Jerry Brown in response to Trump’s first-term immigration policies. The law prevents local and state law enforcement from arresting individuals for immigration violations or holding them beyond their release date solely for immigration purposes. It also restricts when officers can share an inmate’s release date with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). However, it does not prevent federal agents from making arrests, nor does it protect undocumented immigrants from deportation.
Federal Funding at Stake
It remains unclear which federal funds the Trump administration would withhold, but the financial impact on California could be substantial. The state relies heavily on federal dollars for various public programs, including healthcare, infrastructure, and wildfire recovery efforts.
Trump attempted a similar policy during his first term, seeking to withhold law enforcement grants from sanctuary cities. California sued, and federal courts ruled in the state’s favor, finding that the administration lacked the authority to impose funding restrictions on sanctuary jurisdictions. The U.S. Supreme Court later declined to hear the case, allowing the lower court ruling to stand.
Despite legal setbacks, Trump and his allies have continued to push back against sanctuary laws. In the past, a nonprofit group led by his adviser Stephen Miller sent letters to hundreds of local governments warning them that their sanctuary policies could have legal consequences.
How the Sanctuary Law Works
The sanctuary law’s primary function is to regulate what California law enforcement agencies can and cannot do in cooperation with federal immigration authorities. For example, the law prohibits police from detaining someone past their scheduled release date purely for ICE agents to take custody. However, it does allow cooperation in cases involving serious crimes.
Under the law, local police and sheriff’s departments can notify ICE when an inmate convicted of violent or serious felonies—such as murder, rape, robbery, or arson—is about to be released. Critics of the sanctuary policy, including Trump, argue that it prevents the removal of dangerous criminals, but law enforcement officials say ICE already has access to jail rosters and fingerprint databases, allowing them to identify and detain individuals independently.
Between 2018 and 2023, California jails transferred individuals to ICE custody following their release, but ICE did not always take action. According to a 2022 legislative analysis, between 2017 and 2020, ICE picked up about 80% of undocumented immigrants released from state prisons, leaving thousands unaccounted for.
Niels Frenzen, a professor at USC’s Gould School of Law and co-director of the school’s immigration clinic, said claims that the sanctuary law shields violent criminals from deportation are misleading. “It is an absurdity to be talking about SB 54 as preventing bad, non-citizens with serious criminal convictions from being turned over to [the Department of Homeland Security]. It doesn’t do that,” he said. “But those facts are just not part of the political debate.”
Legal and Political Battle Expected
With Trump’s executive order now in place, legal experts anticipate another court battle between California and the federal government. When the Justice Department challenged California’s sanctuary law in 2018, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law did not obstruct federal immigration enforcement. The Supreme Court later declined to review the case, leaving the law intact.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has signaled that the state is prepared to defend its sanctuary policies once again. “The federal government has a lane that they are entitled to move in; they can enforce immigration law,” Bonta said during a recent press conference in San Diego. “But they can’t conscript or force the city, the county, or the state law enforcement entities to do their job for them.”
The Trump administration’s new order could create tensions between federal and state law enforcement agencies, particularly in cases where ICE attempts to conduct operations in jurisdictions that limit cooperation.
Crime and Sanctuary Policies
Opponents of sanctuary policies frequently argue that they endanger public safety by allowing undocumented immigrants who commit crimes to remain in the country. In 2019, Trump cited the killing of a police officer in Stanislaus County as an example of the dangers posed by sanctuary laws.
However, research on the link between sanctuary policies and crime rates is inconclusive. A 2020 study from the University of California, Irvine, examined crime rates in California following the implementation of the sanctuary law and found no significant change in violent or property crime rates. Another study by researchers at Stanford and Princeton found that sanctuary policies reduce the overall number of deportations but do not significantly impact the number of deportations of individuals convicted of violent crimes.
Despite a lack of clear evidence linking sanctuary policies to increased crime, conservative groups such as the Hoover Institution have argued that these laws contribute to issues like the fentanyl crisis. The think tank has suggested that the increase in fentanyl-related deaths in California after 2018 may be linked to the sanctuary law, though researchers note that proving a direct causal relationship is difficult.
Changes to ‘Sensitive Areas’ Enforcement
During the Biden administration, ICE was discouraged from making arrests in “sensitive areas” such as schools, hospitals, churches, and courthouses to avoid deterring people from seeking medical care or attending court proceedings. However, the Trump administration recently rescinded that policy, paving the way for increased immigration enforcement in these locations.
This change could lead to conflicts between federal and state officials. California’s sanctuary law requires public institutions, including schools and courthouses, to adopt policies limiting cooperation with immigration authorities. Alvaro Huerta, director of litigation and advocacy at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, said this could create legal uncertainty if ICE attempts to carry out arrests in these locations. “The federal government may attempt some enforcement in those spaces, but the state government is asking those spaces to require warrants,” he said.
As Trump moves to enforce stricter immigration policies, California officials remain defiant, arguing that sanctuary laws protect immigrant communities and maintain trust between local law enforcement and residents. With legal challenges likely, the fight over California’s sanctuary status appears far from over.
