California Became a First Sanctuary State: Offered Protection to Undocumented Immigrants

On October 5, 2017, California officially became a first sanctuary state in the nation.

California Governor signed into law nearly several immigration bills, which prohibits California employers from cooperating with federal immigration authorities in the absence of a judicial warrant or court order.

For example:

• Prohibits employers from voluntarily consenting to an immigration enforcement agent’s entering nonpublic areas of the workplace without a warrant;
• Prohibits employers from voluntarily consenting to an immigration enforcement agent’s accessing, reviewing or obtaining employment records without a subpoena or court order;
• Prohibits employers from reverifying the employment eligibility of a current employee at a time or in a manner not required by federal law; and
• Requires employers to provide notice to current employees of an inspection of I-9 forms and other employment records by an immigration agency within 72 hours of receiving the federal notice of inspection.

Penalties for failure to comply with the new law range from $2,000 to $10,000 per violation.

​AB 450 can be found here.