AB 1537, the No Side Jobs for ICE Act by Asm Isaac Bryan, would make sure local police and sheriffs in California can’t take a second job or “moonlight” as deportation agents.
Why it matters: Armed with $240 billion at their disposal, the Trump administration desperately wants more ICE agents abducting our neighbors from the streets and harming Californians. ICE is spending millions on ads in an attempt to recruit local police, including advertising campaigns specifically in California markets. And right now, nothing in California law prevents local officers from “moonlighting” as deportation agents. AB 1537, the first bill of its kind in the country, will close this loophole and bring much needed transparency!
What the bill changes:
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Why it matters: Armed with $240 billion at their disposal, the Trump administration desperately wants more ICE agents abducting our neighbors from the streets and harming Californians. ICE is spending millions on ads in an attempt to recruit local police, including advertising campaigns specifically in California markets. And right now, nothing in California law prevents local officers from “moonlighting” as deportation agents. AB 1537, the first bill of its kind in the country, will close this loophole and bring much needed transparency!
What the bill changes:
- AB 1537 would ensure that certain law enforcement officers in California cannot take on secondary employment in any job that involves "engaging in arresting, detaining, transporting, or deporting individuals pursuant to federal or out-of-state immigration laws.”
- This prohibition applies whether the “side job” is with ICE itself, a private corporation that is profiting off of detention or deportation, or with a law enforcement agency in another state that has passed anti-immigrant legislation.
- AB 1537 will also help uncover the truth about this troubling practice. Right now, even the most basic information about what’s really happening is shrouded in secrecy.
- Any activity that state and local law enforcement can currently do as part of their primary employment, they will be able to continue to do. The bill has no impact on what law enforcement officers can do in their primary employment. For example, state and local officers can continue to participate in joint task forces under this bill, as long as that participation complies with existing state law.
- State and local officers can continue to serve in any branch of the United States Armed Forces under this bill, including the Coast Guard Reserves.
Learn more
- Read the full bill text
- Watch Assemblymember Brian's interview with Spectrum News
- Share our new graphics