California Democrats are advancing bills to block ICE agents from working for local police

Should someone’s work in immigration during the Trump administration disqualify them from a civil service job in California?

Many California Democrats, alarmed by the administration’s aggressive immigration tactics, are ready to take that step.

In a party-line vote, lawmakers on the state Senate’s Public Safety Committee passed a bill Tuesday that would disqualifies people from becoming local or state police officers if they were personally involved in federal immigration enforcement beginning on or after January 20, 2025, the date President Donald Trump began his second term.

Former agents in, say, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection will only be able to apply to become police officers after at least 10 years have passed since leaving the services. This can be a hindrance for them as they often work in California law enforcement pay better and offer more generous benefits than those in the federal government.

During her testimony in support of the bill, Margo George of the California Public Defenders Association said the bill is protective rather than punitive and that police officers “have extraordinary power.”

• George: The bill “recognizes that individuals who have participated in or enabled illegal law enforcement and prison practices — where brutality and racial discrimination are not only tolerated but encouraged — should not hold positions of public trust in California.”

California law enforcement officials oppose the measure, arguing that the bill does not specify individuals who have a record of wrongdoing or wrongdoing. Sen. Kelly Sejartoa Murrieta Republican who voted no called the bill “ridiculous.”

• Visit: “It’s unfair to so many people who are good people who work for an agency and are just doing their jobs. … There’s no reason for us to subjugate them and keep them out of a job.”

The committee also raised concerns that the bill could violate the US Constitution. Recently a federal judge stopped a new law in California ban local and federal employees from wearing masks, and Menjivar’s proposal, an analysis of the bill warns, could face the same scrutiny.

Two similar bills also passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee on Tuesday: One, author in part by the chairman of the assembly Robert Rivas of Salinas, would bar current immigration agents from working in the California police force. Another would forbid agents who worked for ICE from September 1, 2025 to January 20, 2029 by those appointed as police officers.

Speaking of public safety, CalMatters’ Joe Garcia dives into high-profile parole cases that have brought new attention to state parole program for the elderly.

David Allen Funston and Gregory Lee Vogelsang were convicted of multiple sexual assaults against young children. Last year, the California parole board found Funston and Vogelsang, now 67 and 57, respectively, eligible for parole based on their rehabilitation records.

Their potential release has lawmakers from both parties racing to reduce parole eligibility for sex offenders. In March, Republican lawmakers held a press conference outside a Parole Committee meeting to draw attention to Vogelsang’s case. Earlier this month, Assembly Member Stephanie Nguyen cited Funston to advance his bill that would raise the parole eligibility standard for sex offenders to age 65 from the current 50.

People released from prison through the parole board have low recidivism rates, with less than 3% of them committing new crimes. But while Nguyen says “people can recover,” she remains skeptical about some crimes.

• NguyenElk Grove Democrat: “When you’ve done things like bullied little boys ages 5 to 11, I just don’t know if you can change from that.”

Read more.

Agreement to enroll more California students at top UC schools calls into question whether five-year deal should continue as is given its high pricewrites Mikhail Zinstein of CalMatters.

Lawmakers and UC officials brokered the plan in 2022, which called for UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC San Diego to admit a combined 900 more in-state students per year instead of out-of-state students. Since international students pay three times more than in-state students, the state will cover the loss by increasing the university system’s budget.

Since then, about 3,000 more in-state students have enrolled at the three universities, costing taxpayers $276 million. It would cost much less if out-of-state enrollment were not reduced while adding more seats for local students.

With another year to go and multibillion-dollar state deficits to contend with, the nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Analyst is recommending the Legislature tweak the program to save about $36 million a year: Continue to enroll more California students, but don’t limit out-of-state enrollment.

Read more.

The Trump administration dropped its efforts to change how federal funds for the homeless are distributed, giving California a legal victory. Last year, the administration tried to limit how much federal money states could use for permanent housing, setting off legal battles with several states, including California, as well as Santa Clara and San Francisco counties. Read more by Marissa Kendall of CalMatters.