Are California's Police Departments Defying Its Sanctuary Law?

In late 2017, California’s then-Governor Jerry Brown signed a package of “sanctuary” bills that included SB 54—the first statewide bill of its scope limiting local and state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The Justice Department, under Jeff Sessions at the time, immediately sued, and lost. (It has since appealed the decision.) The law also met with resistance from a smattering of cities—turning the state itself into a legal battleground.

Now, a new report assessing the impact of the law finds that while SB 54 has already made a dent in decreasing immigrant arrests in the state, many local law enforcement groups are finding ways to circumvent it. The findings reinforce the notion backed up by previous research that America’s deportation dragnet would not be as extensive if local officials declined to participate. But it also gives insight into the breadth of subtle ways many local agencies currently assist federal officials—and the challenge for a state wanting to curb that cooperation.