Does California law stop local police from helping ICE? What 287(g) means here

This page explains how California law limits local police and sheriffs. It is general information, not legal advice. Questions about what data police share, and about ICE holds in jail, have their own pages linked below.

We know many people are afraid to call the police or even drive to work. You have more protection in California than in most states. Here is what it covers, and where it stops.

Can my local police or sheriff work with ICE?

Mostly no. The California Values Act, passed as SB 54, took effect in 2018. It says state and local law enforcement may not use their money, staff or buildings to investigate, question, detain or arrest people for immigration enforcement.

It covers city police, county sheriffs, school police and campus security departments. In East Palo Alto, San Mateo County and Santa Clara County, that means your local police, your sheriff and the deputies who run the county jails.

There are exceptions. They are narrow, and most of them are about people with serious criminal records. We list them below.

What can't local police do?

Under the Values Act, California police and sheriffs may not:

• Ask about your immigration status for immigration enforcement.
• Hold you for ICE. They may not keep you in jail because ICE asked them to, or keep you past your release time.
• Make immigration arrests. They may not arrest you on a civil immigration warrant (an ICE form, not a judge's warrant).
• Give ICE your personal information, such as your home or work address, unless that information is already public.
• Act as immigration officers, under a 287(g) agreement or any other formal or informal deal.
• Work under ICE's supervision or be deputized as federal agents for immigration enforcement.
• Use ICE agents as interpreters for people in their custody.
• Give ICE its own office inside a city or county police building or jail.
• Sign new contracts to hold people for civil immigration detention in local jails.

California also allows only narrow reasons to tell ICE your release date or to hand you over. See What an ICE hold is.

What is 287(g), and does it happen here?

287(g) is a section of federal immigration law. It lets ICE sign agreements that give local officers some powers of immigration agents. ICE runs three models: one inside jails, one for officers on patrol (called the task force model), and one that lets officers serve ICE administrative warrants on people already in their custody.

In many states, sheriffs have signed these agreements. California is different. The Values Act says local agencies may not perform the functions of an immigration officer, and it names 287(g) directly.

ICE's own list of participating agencies (file dated October 20, 2026) names no California law enforcement agency (ICE 287(g) page, checked October 21, 2026). In 2025 one California sheriff signed an application and pulled his signature the same day, according to local reporting. The rule itself is clear: the Values Act bars these agreements.

What this means for you: in California, a local officer should not be acting as an ICE agent. If one says they are, write down what happened and contact a lawyer.

When can police still share information or work with ICE?

These are the exceptions. They matter most to people with criminal cases.

• Serious convictions. A jail may tell ICE your release date, or hand you to ICE, only in limited cases: for example, if you were convicted of a serious or violent felony, or of certain listed crimes within set time limits. Plain misdemeanors do not count.
• A judge's warrant. A jail may hand someone over if a federal judge signed a criminal warrant or found probable cause.
• Illegal reentry after an aggravated felony. Police may arrest someone for this federal crime, but only if they find it during unrelated police work.
• Criminal history. Police may answer ICE's request for a person's arrest and conviction record, where state law allows it.
• Joint task forces. Local officers may work on task forces with federal agents if the main purpose is not immigration enforcement. In 2025, task force members across California reported 300 arrests made for immigration enforcement purposes, out of 16,613 task force arrests in all.
• Jail interviews. ICE may interview someone in a county jail only after the jail gives a written consent form that says the interview is voluntary and that the person may decline or have a lawyer present.
• Immigration status records. Federal law (8 U.S.C. 1373) lets agencies share a person's citizenship or immigration status. Courts have read that narrowly. It does not cover release dates or addresses.

Even when an exception fits, local police may still choose not to help ICE.

Has the federal government challenged this law?

Yes, and so far the law stands.

• 2018 to 2020: The Justice Department sued California over SB 54. A federal appeals court (the Ninth Circuit) upheld the core of the law in 2019. On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case.
• 2025: The President ordered agencies to cut federal money to "sanctuary" places. San Francisco and other cities and counties sued. A federal judge in San Francisco blocked the funding cuts on April 24, 2025, and that case is still going.
• June 30, 2025: The Justice Department sued the City of Los Angeles over its own sanctuary rules. That case is still going.

New lawsuits come up often. These two cases were still open when we checked on October 19, 2026. If you are reading this later, ask a local legal aid group whether a court has changed the rules.

Did California pass new laws in 2025?

Yes. Several focus on schools, clinics and federal agents rather than local police:

• Schools (AB 49 and SB 98) limit agent access at schools. See Can immigration agents come to my child's school?
• Health care (SB 81) limits agent access to private areas of publicly funded clinics and hospitals. See Can ICE arrest me at a courthouse, hospital or church?
• Officer identification (SB 805, the No Vigilantes Act) requires non uniformed officers in California to show their agency and a name or badge number during arrests, detentions and crowd control (Penal Code 13654). On October 14, 2026, the Ninth Circuit ordered that California may not enforce it against federal officers. The order covers only federal officers, so the rule still applies on its face to state and local officers. Uniformed local officers must also wear a badge or nameplate with a name or ID number under an older law, Penal Code 830.10.
• Masks (SB 627, the No Secret Police Act) limited face coverings for officers, including federal agents. The federal district court blocked the mask ban as to federal officers in February 2026.

What should I do if a local officer stops me?

Stay calm. Local police can still stop and arrest you for a crime or a traffic violation. The Values Act does not change that.

• You have the right to stay silent about where you were born and your immigration status.
• Do not lie and do not show false papers.
• Do not run or resist, even if you think the stop is unfair.
• If you are driving, give your license, registration and proof of insurance when asked.
• Ask, "Am I free to go?" If yes, leave calmly.

For when you must give your name, see Do I have to tell the police my name in California? For the full script, see Your rights if immigration agents come.

What if I think local police broke the Values Act?

Write it down the same day, while you remember it:

• The date, time and place
• The officer's name or badge number, and the agency
• What the officer asked or did, and what was said about ICE
• Names and phone numbers of anyone who saw it
• Photos of any papers you were given

Then:

1. Talk to a lawyer. If you or a loved one is in custody or in immigration court, this comes first. The free and low cost options are below.
2. Tell the California Attorney General. The AG asks people to email immigration@doj.ca.gov with information about immigration enforcement in their community or a possible violation, or to report a rights violation at oag.ca.gov/report.
3. File a complaint with the agency. Every police department and sheriff takes complaints about officers. Ask for the form at the front desk or on their website.

If something is happening right now, call your county's rapid response line. For a medical emergency or danger, call 911.

Quick answers

Will the police call ICE if I report a crime? Calling for help is not immigration enforcement, and local police should not ask about your status. Some crime victims may also qualify for a U visa. See Can I report a crime without being reported to ICE?

Is my city a "sanctuary city"? The Values Act applies everywhere in California, so every city and county follows the same baseline. Some counties go further. Santa Clara County's Board voted in 2019 to keep its own civil detainer and notification policies; we could not find the current text online. San Mateo County strengthened its ordinance in 2025. Ask your county's immigrant affairs office for the policy in force today.

Can my probation officer report me? That has its own rules. See Can my probation officer report me to ICE?

What about state prison? State prisons (CDCR) are not covered by the same limits. See Will ICE pick me up when I leave a California jail or prison?

Can a sheriff decide to work with ICE anyway? Not under state law. A sheriff who signs a 287(g) agreement or holds people for ICE would be going against the Values Act. Report it as shown above.

Who can help?

You don't have to figure this out alone. These are free or low cost public offices and nonprofits. Contact them to confirm hours, languages and openings. Being listed here is not a referral or a promise of service.

• Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto: 650-326-6440, walk ins Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1861 Bay Road
• San Mateo County Rapid Response Hotline: (203) 666-4472, 24 hours, run by Faith in Action with county funding
• Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network: (408) 290-1144, 24 hours
• California Attorney General: immigration@doj.ca.gov
• Anywhere in California: the state's map of free immigration legal services, or call (916) 651-8017.

More options: Free legal help in the Bay Area. Only an attorney or a DOJ accredited representative may give you legal advice.

Is there a card I can print?

Yes. Keep it in your wallet or post it at church or school.

You are not powerless here. California chose to keep its police out of immigration enforcement, and you can hold them to that. Take one step today: save the rapid response number in your phone.