Today State Senator Ricardo Lara, together with co-sponsors the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) and Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC), announced the groundbreaking Dignity Not Detention Act. The first bill of its kind, SB 1289 would stop city and county actors from being complicit in detaining immigrants for profit through the creation and renewal of contracts with prison corporations.

California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a key piece of drug reform legislation known as AB 1352 to help protect communities of color, including immigrants, from unjust consequences of the criminal justice system.  At the same time, the Governor vetoed another measure, AB 1351, which would have brought further reforms to sentencing for certain drug crimes and limited disproportionate consequences for immigrants.

Over 50 California civil rights, immigrants’ rights, workers’ rights, and faith-based organizations urged their senators to stop efforts that would undermine California law. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) and the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) delivered the letter to Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer this afternoon.