For Immediate Release
// Excuse Cross Postings // Available Online
September 28th, 2016
Contact: Armando Carmona, armando@ndlon.org, 323-250-3018
TRUTH Act Signed into Law: Step Forward in Fight to get ICE out of Jails
Los Angeles, CA – On Wednesday afternoon California Governor Jerry Brown signed the TRUTH Act which focuses on transparency and accountability when it comes to collaboration between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local police departments. In response to the signing the governor stated that “the bill…reflects a measured approach to due process and transparency principles”.
The TRUTH act will ensure that immigrants are given key information when placed in jail. Any non-citizen who is detained in jail will be made aware if there is a request for that person to be turned over to immigration authorities. Currently, many who are detained and transferred to immigration have no idea what is going on until they either arrive at detention center or are en-route to deportation. The TRUTH Act will also allows immigrants to deny an ICE interview, or to request an attorney be present during that interview. ICE often uses these interviews to intimidate immigrants without them being aware of their rights or following due process. Finally, if a Sheriff or Police Chief turns someone over to immigration authorities, they will have to hold a public forum to explain their actions to the community.
“This bill lays the foundation for beginning to bring real due process protections to immigrants in California facing deportation,” said Jessica Karp Bansal, Litigation Director at NDLON. “We will be closely monitoring local jurisdictions’ compliance, and we will continue to press ICE to bring transparency that is sorely lacking. Finally, we look forward to working with Governor Brown next year to establish additional statutory protections. If there is one thing that is clear at this point, it is that ICE is operating without sufficient accountability for the devastation its detention and deportations unleash on California’s immigrant families. We will continue to work until we get ICE out of our communities and our jails.”
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