Immigration policy is changing fast. What’s enforceable under California’s sanctuary laws?

Two weeks into President Donald Trump’s new term, federal immigration agents are carrying out his agenda to crack down on illegal immigration and have arrested thousands of people.

Trump issued a slew of immigration-related executive orders and has promised to prioritize targeting undocumented immigrants with criminal histories. In recent days, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has posted multiple daily updates from raids around the country, often of people with past criminal convictions.

ICE has been active in Sacramento. The agency said last week it arrested an undocumented Guatemalan man in the city who was previously convicted of lewd acts with a minor.

Here are three things to know about the rapidly changing immigration enforcement and what it means under California’s sanctuary state law.

What immigration laws have changed since Trump took over?

Aside from stepped-up immigration enforcement, Trump earlier this week signed the Laken Riley Act. The new law requires federal agents to detain undocumented people charged with or convicted of crimes that result in a person’s death or injury, as well as property crimes.

The law is named after a Georgia nursing student who was murdered by an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela who was previously arrested on shoplifting charges. The congressional legislation attracted bipartisan support, including six California Democrats who voted for the bill.

The law makes it easier for ICE and Border Patrol agents to arrest and deport immigrants suspected or convicted of crimes.

Federal authorities can detain undocumented immigrants once charged and then and then deport them to their home countries prior to appearing in an American court.

How do California’s sanctuary laws apply?

During Trump’s first term, then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed California’s so-called sanctuary state law, which prohibits state and local police from using resources to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement agencies.

The law does not prevent local police from communicating with or transferring custody of a detainee to ICE.

It also does not prevent federal immigration agents from arresting or detaining people in California.

“The federal government is in charge of immigration enforcement. The state can’t interfere with that,” said UC Davis Law professor Kevin R. Johnson. “At the same time, the federal government can’t tell the state government what to do. They can’t commandeer the state government to say, ‘You’re part of our immigration posse.’”

Attorney General Rob Bonta and other attorneys general from “sanctuary states” acknowledged as much in a recent statement.

“While the federal government may use its own resources for federal immigration enforcement, the court ruled in Printz v. United States that the federal government cannot ‘impress into its service—and at no cost to itself—the police officers of the 50 States,” the attorneys general said.

They also said they “will continue to investigate and prosecute crimes, regardless of immigration status.”

On Friday, California Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Roseville, introduced a bill that would allow local police to ignore their state’s sanctuary laws to work with ICE.

“Many local jurisdictions across California are ready to do their part but face uncertainty because of California’s so-called ‘Sanctuary State’ law,” Kiley said in a statement. “My legislation makes clear that local law enforcement officials are free to communicate with federal immigration authorities, irrespective of misguided and legally dubious state laws.”

What about ‘sensitive places’ like churches and schools?

During Trump’s second day back in the White House, his administration reversed guidance that prohibited immigration officers from accessing and making arrests at places like schools, churches and hospitals.

There’s nothing the state of California can do about this policy change.

“It would have to be a federal law to limit the federal government’s activities in that regard,” Johnson said.

Some Democratic state lawmakers have introduced bills to increase barriers for ICE entry to school campuses and to require schools to alert students, parents and faculty if immigration officers target a school.

This story was originally published February 3, 2025 at 8:58 AM with the headline "Immigration policy is changing fast. What’s enforceable under California’s sanctuary laws?."