04/05/2018 Tungol Law Headline News, Immigration, Reform, Research, sanctuary "Private Citizens and Groups Can Provide Immigrants “Sanctuary”"

Immigration law professors Pratheepan Gulasekaram and Rose Cuison Villazor in this Los Angeles Times op/ed argue that “a new development could undercut the U.S. Department of Justice’s anti-sanctuary campaign. Across California and the country, many institutions of everyday life — churches, schools, employers, businesses and nonprofits of every stripe — are taking bold steps to protect undocumented immigrants. The sanctuary offered by this groundswell has the potential to be just as effective as the protections offered by California.”

The Trump administration intensified its fight with California last month when the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit arguing that the state’s so-called sanctuary laws undermine federal immigration enforcement and are therefore unconstitutional. A few cities and counties in California have also opposed the policies in recent weeks.

Despite all the bluster, California is likely to prevail. The Supreme Court’s governing interpretation of the 10th Amendment protects the autonomy of states and prevents them from being conscripted into federal enforcement programs.

Whatever the outcome of the lawsuit, a new development could undercut the DOJ’s anti-sanctuary campaign. Across California and the country, many institutions of everyday life — churches, schools, employers, businesses and nonprofits of every stripe — are taking bold steps to protect undocumented immigrants. The sanctuary offered by this groundswell has the potential to be just as effective as the protections offered by the state.

Churches from Tucson to Boston have offered shelter to the undocumented and provided emotional and spiritual support to families under threat of deportation. In Los Angeles, an extensive consortium of religious organizations of various faiths has provided housing, food and legal assistance to undocumented immigrants.

Universities have declared themselves “sanctuary campuses,” including Wesleyan in Middletown, Conn., and Pitzer College in Claremont, or have adopted other policies to shield undocumented students, as the University of California system has done. Entire school districts from Chicago to Davis, Calif., have taken measures to protect the privacy rights and information of undocumented children and their families.

Restaurants across the country are advertising a “table for everyone,” while community members in places such as Oakland have set up rapid-response networks to document raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and assist people who are targeted. Many others are using mobile apps or social networks to warn noncitizens about immigration enforcement activity. Facebook groups such as Retenes California, for instance, routinely post information on ICE, Border Patrol and checkpoints around the state.

These groups and individuals happen to have a wealth of legal protections that the DOJ’s lawsuit can’t defeat. For the most part, their policies and actions are safeguarded by the 1st Amendment’s protections of free speech and free religious exercise; the 4th Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures; federal privacy laws governing student information; and common-law rights regarding private property and workplaces.

The DOJ’s lawsuit has no purchase with this diverse set of rights and legal defenses. It focuses only on the constitutional leeway that states have to disentangle themselves from federal immigration enforcement.

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