The power of California’s Sanctuary Law: SB 54 after 2 years

In 2018, the California Senate Bill 54, aka the California Values Act and more commonly known as the "sanctuary city law," became law. SB 54 bars local law enforcement agencies from using their resources to aid federal government action against illegal immigrants. The bill prohibits local police from asking arrestees about their immigration status, notifying federal agents about an immigrant's release date from jail, or holding an immigrant beyond the scheduled release date for transfer to immigration officers. SB 54 does not apply to immigrants charged with serious crimes.

Shortly after the bill became law, the U.S. Department of Justice sued California arguing that SB 54 is antithetical to federal immigration law and violates the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution. The Eastern District of California ruled in favor of California and held that SB 54 did not violate the federal immigration law -- a ruling that was later upheld by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a unanimous decision. The 9th Circuit, "rejected the United States' argument that the provisions violate the doctrine of obstacle preemption and the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity, concluding that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that any obstruction caused by SB 54 is consistent with California's prerogatives under the Tenth Amendment and the anticommandeering rule."

Some local governments, such as Orange County and San Diego County, have opted to exercise discretion in how to enforce SB 54. The city of Huntington Beach challenged the law arguing that, as a charter city -- a city organized through a charter approved by voters rather than the laws of California -- it has greater discretion in how the law is enforced. The city argued that the law violated the California Constitution, which grants charter cities "supreme authority" over municipal affairs, including control over their police forces. Orange County Superior Court Judge James Crandall found in favor of Huntington Beach and ruled that SB 54 is unconstitutional as it applies to charter cities. Judge Crandall found that charter cities could exempt themselves from SB 54.

Following the Huntington Beach victory, the city of Los Alamitos passed an ordinance to opt out of the law, the city of Costa Mesa adopted a resolution opposing the law, and the city of Fountain Valley signed on in support of federal opposition to the law.

California appealed Crandall's ruling and earlier this month the 4th District Court of Appeal reversed. In a 3-0 ruling published on Jan. 10, the appellate court found that SB 54 regulates issues of "statewide concern" that outweigh local interests and is binding on the state's 121 charter cities, including Orange County. City of Huntington Beach v. Becerra, 2020 DJDAR 190. The court found that, "The legislature narrowly tailored the CVA to address legitimate public safety and other statewide concerns and not to thwart the ability of state and local law enforcement to transfer dangerous felons to federal immigration officials ... The CVA does not prohibit all local law enforcement activity related to immigration or a person's immigration status, but only prohibits such activity to the extent necessary to resolve the statewide concerns identified by the legislature."

The court found that in enacting SB 54, the State Senate made findings that undocumented immigrants were reluctant to report crimes to police, to attend school, or seek health care if they believed local officers were working with immigration agents. The court distinguished prior California Supreme Court rulings exempting charter cities from state laws such as public financing of election campaigns or mandatory arbitration in labor disputes involving public officials. The court noted that SB 54 protects immigrants' constitutional rights, which take precedence over charter cities' independence.

In an interview following the appellate ruling, Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates confirmed that he intends to consider bringing the case to the California Supreme Court. Gates stated that, "a decision like this rewrites, if not undermines, portions of the California Constitution that provide charter cities like Huntington Beach the authority to govern the police department."

This may be a prime case for the California Supreme Court to take on and put to bed, at least for now. 