The California Catholic Conference of Bishops supports Senate Bill 54, the California Values Act. The bill is currently pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 54 would bar state and local law enforcement agencies from using their resources, including money, facility, property, equipment and personnel, to help with immigration enforcement. They would be prohibited from asking about immigration status, giving federal immigration authorities access to interview a person in custody, or assisting them in immigration. SB 54 bars law enforcement from detaining a person due to a hold request, responding to federal immigration enforcement request for notification, or providing information about a person's release date unless that's already available publicly. The bill passed the state Senate on a 27-12 vote in April.
SB 54 includes some exceptions, allowing local agencies to transfer individuals to federal immigration authorities if there is a judicial warrant or if the person has previously been convicted of a violent felony. It also requires notification to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of scheduled releases of people who hve been convicted of violent felonies.
In a statement issued Aug. 23, Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, president of the California Catholic Conference, cited the importance of public safety, while questioning the wisdom of indiscriminate deportations.
"In the nation today, some are displacing trust and cooperation with fear and hatred," he said. "In our estimation, the majority of Californians, as well as the nation, desire rather to build a society where there is liberty and justice for all. SB 54 is attempting to address this situation directly as it grapples with the injustice of indiscriminant deportations while assuring public safety for all our families and neighborhoods....SB 54 is threading the prudent path between respect for human dignity and sensible community-policing, while resisting a brutish nativist polemic heard in some quarters."
Visit the links below to read the entire text of Bishop Soto's statement in English and Spanish.