Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law on Sept. 28 the Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds (TRUTH) Act, which aims to provide transparency on immigration law enforcement.
The TRUTH Act applies to individuals in custody regarding civil immigration violations. Locally, the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy estimates more than 110,000 undocumented immigrants living in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Many of these people reside in Santa Maria and other agricultural areas of Northern Santa Barbara County, where U.S. Immigrations and Custom Enforcement (ICE) has had a growing presence.
The TRUTH Act requires due process for undocumented immigrants who are held in custody—and it’s the first law of its kind in the United States.
The new legislation requires a local law enforcement agency to provide a written consent form to the person in custody prior to that person’s interview with ICE. The form would explain the purpose of the interview and clarify that the interview is voluntary and that the individual may decline it. The TRUTH Act also requires that the consent form be available in multiple languages.
The act requires that local law enforcement agencies provide the individual in custody with the same notification of his or her release as it provides to ICE. And if the law enforcement agency permits ICE access to any individual in custody, the TRUTH Act requires a local legislative body to hold an annual community forum and make sure any records pertaining to ICE’s access are public.
This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 3, 2016.