Lompoc chief stresses AB 54 limits as residents press council to endorse protections for undocumented neighbors

Police Chief Kevin Martin told the City Council on March 18 that Lompoc police do not ask about or report immigration status and will not transfer people to federal immigration authorities except under narrow, law-defined conditions. The comments came as several neighborhood and advocacy groups urged the council to adopt a five-point local policy to protect undocumented residents and asked elected officials to put the item on a future agenda.

The chief said the department follows California Assembly Bill 54 and its own policy on transfers to immigration authorities, reading the policy language aloud and citing Government Code sections referenced in the policy. “Our role is to enforce state and local laws, not federal immigration laws,” he said, adding that officers “do not detain individuals based solely on immigration status.”

Advocates from a group identified in testimony as Voces/Voces Sin Fronteras (referred to in places during the…