Being a sanctuary city does not increase or decrease overall crime rates.
One of the primary arguments against illegal immigration — and a rationale for deporting undocumented immigrants — is that the presence of these immigrants endangers public safety. A new study from the University of California, Irvine has found that this is not the case.
Senate Bill 54 (SB54) — the California Values Act — was enacted in 2017. Under this law, state or local law enforcement are prohibited from using their resources on behalf of federal immigration authorities. In other words, local and state police cannot round people up on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This law prohibits from:
- Asking about a person’s immigration status
- Arresting a person only for a deportation order or most other immigration violations
- Using ICE or Border Patrol agents as interpreters
- Sharing an individual’s personal information with ICE or Border Patrol, unless it is publicly available.
- Holding individuals in jail for an extended period of time to allow immigration agnates to pick them up
- Allowing immigration agents to interview detainees without their written consent
- Telling immigration agents when a person will be released or transfer a person to their custody (with some exceptions)
This law also imposes requirements on state prison officials.
SB 54 has been controversial, and is often referred to as a sanctuary city bill. Opponents have argued that it makes California less safe.
According to a criminal defense attorney in Orange County, CA, this argument is false. The study from UC Irvine finds no relationship between the enactment of SB54 and both property and violent crime in California.
The authors of the study examined California’s recorded crime rates in the 12 months after the law was enacted, and then compared it to a model that compared what the state’s crime rates would have looked like without the law. This model was built using data collected from states whose crime trends matched California’s for the period between 1970 and 2017. The study found that there was no positive or negative impact on crime rates as a result of SB 54. In other words, being a sanctuary state does not lead to increased crime.
Undocumented immigrants face a range of potential consequences if they are convicted of a crime in California, in addition to any sentence that a judge may hand down as part of a criminal case. Certain offenses are considered “deportable,” which means that an individual may be removed from the country if they are convicted of one of these crimes. Alternatively, a criminal conviction for some offenses may make an individual “inadmissible,” which means that they may not be able to enter the country again if they leave, and that they may not be able to adjust their immigration status.
Because of these potential immigration consequences, it is important to work with a top-notch criminal defense attorney in Orange County, CA if you are an immigrant who has been charged with a California criminal offense. As a former prosecutor, attorney Dan E. Chambers is adept at handling all types of criminal charges. Contact the Chambers Law Firm today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial consultation.
