United States v. California (Eastern District of California, 2018)

At issue in this case are three laws (SB54, AB103, and AB45) the state of California passed in 2017 to protects its immigrants and foster trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities by limiting and clarifying the roles of local law enforcement and government officials in assisting federal immigration enforcement efforts. The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued California erroneously claiming that such laws violate federal immigration law. ADL filed an amicus brief in this case in support of California and opposing the United States’ request for a preliminary injunction which seeks to block implementation of the laws. ADL’s brief argues that a preliminary injunction in this case would force California to set aside critical protections which were specifically designed to build trust and cooperation between law enforcement officials and immigrant and minority communities. California’s laws comply with federal immigration law and they are designed to assist local law enforcement by advancing police-community relations. As an organization with vast experience on preventing and responding to hate crimes, ADL knows that when trust and cooperation between police and minority communities breaks down, communities that are more vulnerable to hate crimes, including immigrants, will stop reporting such crimes to police. The effects of the United States’ actions here will, thus, only undermine public safety for all and destroy relationships between immigrant communities and local law enforcement.