immigration authority

SACRAMENTO — Responding to the Trump administration’s aggressive and unceasing immigration raids in Southern California, state lawmakers this week began strengthening protections for immigrants in schools, hospitals and other areas targeted by federal agents.

The Democratic-led California Legislature is considering nearly a dozen bills aimed at shielding immigrants who are in the country illegally, including helping children of families being ripped apart in the enforcement actions.

“Californians want smart, sensible solutions and we want safe communities,” said Assemblymember Christopher Ward (D-San Diego). “They do not want peaceful neighbors ripped out of schools, ripped out of hospitals, ripped out of their workplaces.”

Earlier this week, lawmakers passed two bills focused on protecting schoolchildren.

Senate Bill 98, authored by Sen. Sasha Renée Peréz (D-Alhambra), would require school administrators to notify families and students if federal agents conduct immigration operations on a K-12 or college campus.

Legislation introduced by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Rolling Hills Estates), AB 49, would bar immigration agents from nonpublic areas of a school unless they had a judicial warrant or court order. It also would bar school districts from providing information about pupils, their families, teachers and school employees to immigration authorities without a warrant.

A separate bill by Sen. Jesse Arreguín (D-Berkeley), SB 81, would bar healthcare officials from disclosing a patient’s immigration status or birthplace, or giving access to nonpublic spaces in hospitals and clinics, to immigration authorities without a search warrant or court order.

All three bills now head to Gov. Gavin Newsom for his consideration. If signed into law, the legislation would take effect immediately.

The school-related bills, said L.A. school board member Rocio Rivas, provide “critical protections for students, parents and families, helping ensure schools remain safe spaces where every student can learn and thrive without fear.”

Federal immigration agents have recently detained several 18-year-old high school students, including Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz, who was picked up last month while walking his dog a few days before he started his senior year at Reseda Charter High School.

Most Republican legislators voted against the bills, but Peréz’s measure received support from two Republican lawmakers, Assemblymember Juan Alanis (R-Modesto) and state Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa). Muratsuchi’s had support from six Republicans.

“No person should be able to go into a school and take possession of another person’s child without properly identifying themselves,” Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) said before voting to support the bill.

The healthcare bill follows a surge in cancellations for health appointments as immigrants stay home, fearing that if they go to a doctor or to a clinic, they could be swept up in an immigration raid.

California Nurses Assn. President Sandy Reding said that federal agents’ recent raids have disregarded “traditional safe havens” such as clinics and hospitals, and that Newsom’s approval would ensure that people who need medical treatment can “safely receive care without fear or intimidation.”

Some Republicans pushed back against the package of bills, including outspoken conservative Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego), who said that the raids that Democrats are “making such hay over” were triggered by the state’s “sanctuary” law passed in 2018.

The state law DeMaio attacked, SB 54, bars local law enforcement from helping enforce federal immigration laws, including arresting someone solely for having a deportation order, and from holding someone in jail for extra time so immigration agents can pick them up.

The law, criticized by President Trump and Republicans nationwide, does not prevent police from informing federal agents that someone who is in the country illegally is about to be released from custody.

“If you wanted a more orderly process for the enforcement of federal immigration rules, you’d back down from your utter failure of SB54,” DeMaio said.

Chino Valley Unified School Board President Sonja Shaw, a Trump supporter who is running for state superintendent of public instruction, said that the bills about school safety were “political theater that create fear where none is needed.”

“Schools already require proper judicial orders before allowing immigration enforcement on campus, so these bills don’t change anything,” Shaw said. “They are gaslighting families into believing that schools are unsafe, when in reality the system already protects students.”

But Muratsuchi, who is also running for superintendent, said the goal of the legislation is to ensure that districts everywhere, “including in more conservative areas,” protect their students against immigration enforcement.

A half-dozen other immigration bills are still pending in the Legislature. Lawmakers have until next Friday to send bills to Newsom’s desk before the 2025 session is adjourned.

Those include AB 495 by Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez (D-San Fernando), which would make it easier for parents to designate caregivers who are not blood relatives — including godparents and teachers — as short-term guardians for their children. An increasing number of immigrant parents have made emergency arrangements in the event they are deported.

The bill would allow nonrelatives to make decisions such as enrolling a child in school and consenting to some medical care.

Conservatives have criticized the bill as an attack on parental rights and have said that the law could be misused by estranged family members or even sexual predators — and that current guidelines for establishing family emergency plans are adequate.

Also still pending is AB 1261, by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Alameda), which would establish a right to legal representation for unaccompanied children in federal immigration court proceedings; and SB 841 by Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), which would restrict access for immigration authorities at shelters for homeless people and survivors of rape, domestic violence and human trafficking.

WASHINGTON — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose case has come to encapsulate much of President Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda, wants to seek asylum in the United States, his lawyers told a federal judge Wednesday.

Abrego Garcia, 30, was detained Monday by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement in Baltimore after leaving a Tennessee jail on Friday. The Trump administration said it intends to deport him to the African country of Uganda.

Administration officials have said he’s part of the dangerous MS-13 gang, an allegation Abrego Garcia denies.

The Salvadoran national’s lawyers are fighting the deportation efforts in court, arguing he has the right to express fear of persecution and torture in Uganda. Abrego Garcia has also told immigration authorities he would prefer to be sent to Costa Rica if he must be removed from the U.S.

A request for asylum in 2019

A U.S. immigration judge denied his request for asylum in 2019 because he applied more than a year after he had fled to the U.S. He left El Salvador at the age of 16, around 2011, to join his brother, who had become a U.S. citizen and was living in Maryland.

Although he was denied asylum, the immigration judge did issue an order shielding Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he faced credible threats of violence from a gang there that had terrorized him and his family. He was granted a form of protection known as “withholding of removal,” which prohibits him from being sent to El Salvador but allows his deportation to another country.

Following the 2019 ruling, Abrego Garcia was released under federal supervision and continued to live with his American wife and children in Maryland. He checked in with ICE each year, received a federal work permit and was working as a sheet metal apprentice earlier this year, his lawyers have said.

But in March, the Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia to a notorious El Salvador prison, alleging he was a member of MS-13.

The allegation stems from a day in 2019 when Abrego Garcia sought work as a day laborer at a Home Depot in Maryland. Authorities had been told by a confidential informant that Abrego Garcia and other men could be identified as members of MS-13 because of their clothing and tattoos. He was detained by police, but Abrego Garcia was never charged — and has repeatedly denied the allegation. He was turned over to ICE and that’s when he applied for asylum for the first time.

Wrongful deportation and return

The Trump administration’s deportation of Abrego Garcia in March violated the immigration judge’s 2019 order barring his removal to El Salvador. Abrego Garcia’s wife sued to bring him back. Facing mounting pressure and a U.S. Supreme Court order, the Trump administration returned Abrego Garcia to the U.S. in June, where he was charged with human smuggling, a federal offense.

Abrego Garcia is accused of taking money to transport people who were in the country illegally. He has pleaded not guilty and asked the judge to dismiss the case, saying it was filed to punish him for challenging his deportation.

The charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop for speeding in Tennessee. There were nine passengers in the SUV and Abrego Garcia had $1,400 in cash on him. While officers discussed among themselves their suspicions of smuggling, he was allowed to drive away with only a warning.

A Homeland Security agent testified that he didn’t begin investigating until this April, when the government was facing mounting pressure to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. The trial is set for January.

A federal judge in Tennessee released Abrego Garcia from jail on Friday after ruling that he was not a flight risk or a danger. The Trump administration moved to deport Abrego Garcia again on Monday, alleging he is a danger.

Abrego Garcia then stated his intent to reopen his immigration case in Maryland and to seek asylum again, his lawyers said Wednesday. Asylum, as defined under U.S. law, provides a green card and a path to citizenship. Abrego Garcia can still challenge his deportation to Uganda, or any other country, on grounds that it is unsafe.

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers say sending him to Uganda would be punishment for successfully fighting his deportation to El Salvador, refusing to plead guilty to the smuggling charges and for seeking release from jail in Tennessee.

Judge keeps Abrego Garcia in the U.S., for now

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have filed a federal lawsuit to ensure that he can exercise his constitutionally protected right to fight deportation. He is entitled to immigration court proceedings and appeals, his lawyers say.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland, who is overseeing the lawsuit, has ruled that the U.S. government cannot remove Abrego Garcia from the country as the lawsuit plays out.

Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign said the government disagrees with the court’s order not to remove him while the lawsuit is pending but that it will comply.

Xinis will not rule on whether Abrego Garcia receives asylum or is deported, but will determine whether he can exercise his right to contest deportation. His asylum case will be heard by a U.S. immigration judge, who is employed by the Department of Justice under the authority of the Trump administration.

The nation’s immigration courts have become a key focus of Trump’s hard-line immigration enforcement efforts. The president has fired more than 50 immigration judges since he returned to the White House in January.

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have said he’ll be able to appeal immigration court rulings to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Kunzelman and Finley write for the Associated Press. Finley reported from Norfolk, Va. AP writer Elliot Spagat contributed to this report.

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended a judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities, saying Tuesday that it is in the public interest to relieve her of her duties as she faces two federal charges.

The FBI took Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan into custody Friday at the county courthouse. She has been charged with concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest and obstructing or impeding a proceeding.

In its two-page order, the court said it was acting to protect public confidence in Wisconsin courts during the criminal proceedings against Dugan. The order noted that the court was acting on its own initiative and was not responding to a request from anyone. Liberal justices control the court, 4 to 3.

“It is ordered … that Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah C. Dugan is temporarily prohibited from exercising the powers of a circuit court judge in the state of Wisconsin, effective the date of this order and until further order of the court,” the justices wrote.

In a statement, Dugan’s legal team said it was disappointed “that the Court acted in unilateral fashion. We continue to assert Judge Dugan’s innocence and look forward to her vindication in court.”

A state court spokesperson said that a reserve judge began filling in for Dugan on Monday for an indefinite period.

Dugan is accused of escorting Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer from her court through the jury door last week after learning that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in the building and seeking his arrest. Flores-Ruiz, who court documents say illegally reentered the U.S. after being deported in 2013, was taken into custody outside after a foot chase.

Court documents suggest Dugan was alerted to the agents’ presence by her clerk, who was informed by an attorney that they appeared to be in the hallway.

An FBI affidavit says Dugan was “visibly angry” over the agents’ arrival and called the situation “absurd” before leaving the bench and retreating to her chambers. It says she and another judge later approached members of the arrest team inside the courthouse with what witnesses described as a “confrontational, angry demeanor.”

After a back-and-forth with officers over the warrant for Flores-Ruiz, Dugan demanded they speak with the chief judge and led them away from the courtroom, the affidavit says.

After directing the agents to the chief judge’s office, investigators say, Dugan returned to the courtroom and was heard saying words to the effect of “wait, come with me” before ushering Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer through the jury door into a nonpublic area.

The action was unusual, the affidavit says, because “only deputies, juries, court staff, and in-custody defendants being escorted by deputies used the back jury door. Defense attorneys and defendants who were not in custody never used the jury door.”

Dugan’s arrest has sparked outrage among Democrats, who have accused the Trump administration of trying to chill the judiciary. Demonstrators gathered outside the FBI’s Milwaukee field office Saturday to protest her arrest.

She is set to appear in court for arraignment May 15.

Richmond writes for the Associated Press.

The Los Angeles City Council on Friday confirmed Jim McDonnell as the city’s 59th police chief in a split 11-2 vote, and he was later officially sworn in in front of a crowded room of city leaders.

While several council members praised Mayor Karen Bass’ selection of a respected and experienced lawman to lead the department, the lack of unanimous approval underscored lingering concerns around McDonnell’s record on immigration as president-elect Donald Trump returns to office.

McDonnell, who has made few public appearances since his appointment, delivered his strongest comments yet about ensuring that the department would not participate in federal immigration enforcement.

“LAPD will not assist with mass deportations. Los Angeles is a city of immigrants and I know that immigrants are being disparaged right now,” McDonnell told the council, striking a more decisive tone than he did in answering some of the same questions at a previous committee hearing. “My job is to protect everyone in Los Angeles and to build trust and that’s what I plan to do.”

After the new chief’s private swearing in, Bass said she “was so appreciative of the way he handled everything.”

“He heard everything people said. And to me, that is just emblematic of the type of chief he will be,” she said. A public swearing-in ceremony is expected to be held next week.

Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martínez cast votes against McDonnell, with Kevin de León and Heather Hutt absent.

In response to a question about how he will ensure that all officers under his command will comply with the department’s immigration rules, McDonnell said, “It’s very clear what our policies are.”

“Accountability is basically the foundation of trust, and we are accountable to the rule of law and to the policies of this organization,” he said.

When asked about a hypothetical scenario in which LAPD officers had detained someone in the back of a police car and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials asked to hand them over, McDonnell replied his officers would not comply.

Most of the opposition has focused on McDonnell’s past willingness to allow immigration authorities into the country’s largest jail system, which he did while serving as L.A. County sheriff from 2014 to 2018. Permitting federal agents to target inmates for deportation, critics say, led to the forced separation of “thousands of families.”

McDonnell said he had evolved in the 10 years since he was sheriff, but argued that his record was misunderstood. He pointed to statistics showing that the number of incarcerated people released to immigration authorities fell to 820 in the last year of his tenure, from the more than 7,800 in 2013, the year before his election. The number of U-Visas, which provide protections to immigrants who are victims of crimes, sponsored by the department also climbed during his tenure.

The council’s split vote on the LAPD chief was unusual. McDonnell’s two immediate predecessors, Michel Moore and Charlie Beck, were each confirmed unanimously.

Soto-Martínez said in an interview before the vote that he would stick with his “no” vote from last week’s public safety committee meeting, where he grilled McDonnell on his record on immigration and his views on traffic enforcement.

Soto-Martínez, whose district stretches from Echo Park to Hollywood, said he remained concerned about the new chief’s “history at the county working with ICE and expanding some of his policies.”

“I don’t have any questions today, but I’m voting no,” he said.

The council also approved McDonnell’s $450,000 yearly salary. It was lowered from the initial salary proposal of $507,509, which spurred criticism with the city facing financial straits.

While McDonnell was before the City Council, several hundred activists gathered for a rally Friday morning in front of City Hall, calling for a new “sanctuary city” law that would bar city personnel and resources from being used in federal immigration enforcement.

Many clutched signs reading “Trump out of LAPD” and “McDonnell is anti-immigrant,” while a band played cumbia and banda music from the back of a flatbed truck.

“Sheriff McDonnell does not deserve and does not have the trust of the community he is sworn to protect,” Pablo Alvarado of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network said in a statement.

The council vote on McDonnell was preceded by a fiery public comment period, which featured about 85 speakers split between supporters and detractors.

One speaker said she feared for the safety of children in her West Side neighborhood and said she supported McDonnell, who she believed “will help restore peace, safety and calm to our city.”

Like others who supported McDonnell, her comments were met by a smattering of both applause and jeers.

Andrés Dae Keun Kwon, a senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, said “thousands of families” were separated thanks to the Sheriff Department’s cozy relationship with federal immigration authorities.

Pastor Stephen Cue Jn-Marie, founder of Creating Justice LA, called McDonnell’s appointment “a spit in our face,” after he was voted out of office by L.A. County residents after one term as sheriff. “You want to pay this man $500,000 a year, and we’re in a budget deficit?”

Some Latino establishment community and political figures expressed disappointment that Bass did not pick Robert “Bobby” Arcos, a former LAPD assistant chief who would have been the first Latino leader in the department’s long history. In a list of finalists presented to Bass by the Police Commission, McDonnell was ranked third behind Arcos and Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides, who is Black.

At a news conference after his confirmation, McDonnell addressed questions about whether he’d cooperate with Trump’s deportation efforts.

“Any talk of mass roundups or the Police Department being involved in that thing — we don’t do that kind of thing,” McDonnell said. “We would alienate much of our population, much of our community, by doing anything like that. So it would make no sense for us to do that.”

The new chief added, “We’re here to keep everybody safe in all communities throughout our city, and the way we do that is by nurturing trust.”

Times staff writer Dakota Smith contributed to this report.