Trump signs law making it easier to deport undocumented immigrants. Is California affected?
Despite its sanctuary policies, California’s undocumented immigrant population faces more questions and possible detention by federal authorities under new legislation signed into law Wednesday by President Donald Trump.
“The law will have an impact on California,” said Kevin Johnson, dean of the UC Davis School of Law.
The Laken Riley Act, which passed Congress last week with significant Democratic support, requires federal authorities to detain undocumented immigrants charged with minor crimes such as burglary and theft.
Johnson noted that California recently toughened shoplifting and store theft laws “that will likely lead to more arrests, criminal charges, detentions” and so on.
“At the end of the day, the Laken Riley Act will affect migrant communities throughout the country and Californians are not going to get a pass,” said César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, an immigration law professor at Ohio State University, told The Sacramento Bee recently.
The law is named for Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student murdered last year by Jose Ibarra, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela. He had been arrested previously on lesser charges.
Ibarra was convicted of murder and other charges in the Riley case and is serving a life sentence without parole.
The act was the first bill Trump has signed into law since taking office last week. In a signing ceremony in the White House’s East Room, as Riley’s family looked on, Trump recalled how she was “murdered by an illegal alien gang member who was set loose into our country by the last administration.” Ibarra was arrested in Texas for illegally crossing the border but released while awaiting a court session.
“As president, I’m fighting every single day to make sure such a tragedy never happens again,” Trump said.
He recited what he said was a strong, effective effort to get undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes out of the country. Federal officials have been conducting raids aimed at rounding up undocumented immigrants.
Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border, which allows the military to get involved in enforcement. He stopped the system that provides a path for people to seek asylum.
Democratic support
The act did attract support from Democrats as well as Republicans.
Among California lawmakers, six Democrats and nine Republicans in the House voted for the bill, while 32 Democrats opposed it. Five Democrats did not vote. In the Senate, California Democrats Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff were opposed.
The vote made it clear that immigration has become a huge political issue in more conservative areas of the state and country.
“The federal government has failed in its duty to secure the border and fix our broken immigration system.” said Rep. Adam Gray, D-Merced, who unseated a Republican incumbent in November by 187 votes.
“I voted to allow states to hold the federal government accountable for its dereliction of duty and hold criminals accountable for their crimes,” he said.
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, also voted for the bill.
“We’ve got to fix our broken immigration system. This bill doesn’t do a lot of that stuff but it certainly tries to indicate we want to address part of the challenges we face. I vote for a lot of imperfect bills,” he told The Bee.
Impact on California
California has an estimated 1.8 million undocumented immigrants, more than any state.
While California law restricts state and local officials from helping with federal immigration enforcement, experts said it would not prevent possible arrests under the new federal law.
Under the new law, federal immigration authorities can place in custody undocumented immigrants arrested for theft, shoplifting, burglary or larceny.
They can also detain undocumented immigrants suspected of assaulting a law enforcement officer or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury to another person.
They can be detained once charged and could be deported back to their origin countries prior to appearing in an American court.
To supporters of the new law, the Riley case is a vivid illustration of why the bill was needed.
“It’s just common sense. It makes no sense at all for folks who entered the country illegally and committed crimes here to remain,” said Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Roseville.
This story was originally published January 29, 2025 at 1:42 PM with the headline "Trump signs law making it easier to deport undocumented immigrants. Is California affected?."
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