Gov. Jerry Brown this morning announced he has signed a bill laying down guidelines that dictate when local law enforcement must detain arrested undocumented immigrants.He also signed a measure, AB 1024 by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, that will allow undocumented immigrants to be licensed as attorneys in California.
In a prepared release accompanying the signings of those bills and six other immigration-related bills, Brown repeated the rationale he recently gave for signing another measure offering undocumented immigrants driver's licenses: "While Washington waffles on immigration, California's forging ahead...I'm not waiting."
Brown vetoed a bill last year that would have barred local law enforcement from honoring most requests to hold arrested immigrants for federal authorities.
An updated version of the bill, Assembly Bill 4 by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, emerged from the Legislature this year and made enough changes to earn Brown's signature. Still, that has fueled concern among law enforcement officials about the rigidity and scope of the new rules.
The undocumented attorney bill was inspired by the story of Sergio C. Garcia, who was brought to the state illegally by his farmworker parents when he was 17 months old, obtained a law degree and passed the bar exam but was unable to obtain a license from state authorities.
Brown also signed Senate Bill 666 by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg that allows revocation of a business license and a $10,000 fine for businesses that retaliate against workers based on their citizenship or immigration status.
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