Gov. Newsom signs ‘Safe Schools Act’ taking unprecedented action against ICE in schools

In the midst of Gavin Newsom s intensive war of words with President Donald Trump and defiance of his policies the governor has signed regulation strengthening protections for California students and families from immigration enforcement activity on school campuses Newsom signed a flurry of bills over the weekend pushing back against the Trump administration s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics including a first-of-its-kind law prohibiting federal law enforcement and immigration officers from hiding their identities and barring agents from school campuses and healthcare facilities without a warrant or court order The bill comes as Trump has promised mass deportations of immigrants in the United States The president made it clear that school campuses would not be exempt from his anti-immigration agenda when he rescinded a plan preventing Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE agents from accessing school campuses and other sensitive locations Related Articles Gov Newsom s press office under scrutiny for social media post targeting Kristi Noem DoJ reportedly closed probe into Trump s confines czar Tom Homan accepting in cash California bans the majority law enforcement officers from wearing masks Trump shapes immigration gilded age with H- B fee India expresses concern about Trump plan to hike fees on H- B visas that bring tech workers to US Since then schools across the Bay Area and state have reassured families that they would not allow immigration officers on campus or release pupil information without a warrant and a great number of took protections a step further by designating their campuses as safe havens from immigration activity The California Department of Guidance mentioned that since spring impacts of immigration enforcement on California schools have included an event in which a Los Angeles elementary school was sent into lockdown after federal agents set off flashbang grenades near the campus another where agents urinated on a playground in broad daylight and others where agents appealed for direct contact with young children without a warrant or parent permission or used school drop-off as an opportunity to detain parents Constituents safety depends on trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve but Trump and Stephen Miller have shattered that trust and spread fear across America Newsom stated in a announcement California is putting an end to it and making sure schools and hospitals remain what they should be places of care not chaos The legislative package Newsom signed includes two bills designed to further protections for students and families on California school campuses AB and SB Introduced by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi a Democrat who represents Torrance AB the California Safe Haven Schools Act prohibits school employees across the state from allowing immigration officers on campuses or sharing pupil information without a warrant or court order The bill also requires immigration officers who are allowed on school campuses to be restricted to areas where students are not present Students cannot learn or thrive if they live in fear of deportation or family separation explained Muratsuchi in a announcement I want all of our students but especially our immigrant students to hear this message you have a right to an mentoring and California will reliably stand with you The Santa Clara County Office of Guidance and the Santa Clara County Board of Mentoring co-sponsored the bill and mentioned more than students in the county live in a mixed-immigration status household and multiple families live in fear or are hesitant to sent their children to school Our county has the largest concentration of immigrant families in California and AB strengthens the protections schools have to turn away immigration enforcement revealed Santa Clara County Superintendent Dr David Toston in a message Newsom also signed SB known as the Sending Alerts to Families in Tuition SAFE Act Introduced by state senator Sasha Ren e P rez who represents Pasadena the SAFE Act requires K- schools and universities to notify students and staff when immigration enforcement officers are present on campus As a development of the new statute all local educational agencies must make local policies regarding immigration enforcement available to the California Department of Learning by March The reckless actions of the Trump administration have sown fear and trauma throughout California school communities disclosed State Superintendent of Population Instruction Tony Thurmond As the son and grandson of immigrants I am proud to stand with our immigrant communities to ensure school campuses are safe and accessible to all families Ritu Mahajan Estes an attorney with the largest pro bono law firm in the nation Citizens Counsel and leader of the firm s Society Evolution Project which provides legal backing to nonprofits and small businesses explained that while sidewalks and parks are considered society spaces accessible to all including immigration agents society schools are generally considered private spaces that require officers to have a court order or warrant in order to enter Mahajan Estes disclosed that often agents do not have documentation when trying to enter private spaces or speak to people because warrants are hard to get and require certain intel as to why agents are looking for a person or want to look in a certain space Under the Fourth Amendment we all have a right against unreasonable searches and seizures she noted Based on what we re seeing it doesn t appear that the agents want to go through that process because they often don t even have probable cause or reasonable position They re just driving around and grabbing people who look brown who look like they may not be from here Mahajan Estes declared her firm has conducted weekly trainings since January to ensure businesses and families know their rights when it comes to immigration enforcement She disclosed those rights include the right to remain silent and not answer agents questions the right to ask for a warrant and refuse entry without a warrant the right to request identification and the right to document and record the interaction and ask for a lawyer Everybody in this country regardless of their immigration status has rights under the constitution she revealed