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Santa Barbara Police reiterates it does not enforce federal immigration law, department says
Summary
A Santa Barbara Police Department representative told the Fire and Police Commission on Feb. 27 that the department does not enforce federal immigration law and does not ask about a person's immigration status, citing state law and existing city statements.
A Santa Barbara Police Department representative briefed the Fire and Police Commission on Feb. 27 about the city's public statement and the department's policy regarding immigration enforcement.
The speaker said the city administrator issued a statement and that the department does not enforce federal immigration law. "As far as the Santa Barbara Police Department is concerned, we are not an agency that enforces immigration. We don't ask an immigration status on anyone that we come in contact with," the speaker said, adding that state law restricts asking immigration status and that the department wants victims and community members to feel comfortable reporting crimes.
Commissioner Jones and others thanked the department and city staff and encouraged broad distribution of the statement and translations. Anderson and department staff said the statement and the department's policy have been translated into Spanish and that staff are distributing the materials and can meet with community organizations that serve immigrants to explain the distinction between local policing and federal immigration enforcement.
The briefing was informational only and required no action by the commission.
