California laws that protect immigrants in criminal cases

This is general information, not legal advice. Whether a law helps you depends on your status and your case. Talk to a defense lawyer and an immigration lawyer.

What protects me at the jail?

The California Values Act (SB 54). State and local police, sheriffs and probation can only help ICE in limited ways. Jails may share release dates or transfer someone to ICE only for people with certain listed convictions, or after a judge finds probable cause on certain serious felonies, under Government Code 7282.5. Even then, they are not required to. The Values Act covers state and local agencies only. It does not bind federal agents. See Can California law stop local police from helping ICE?

The TRUTH Act. Before ICE can interview you in a local jail, the jail must give you a written form saying the interview is voluntary and that you can say no or have your lawyer there, the Attorney General's 2025 bulletin explains. You can decline.

State prison is different. The state prison system, CDCR, says it never holds anyone past their release date, but ICE picked up about 87 percent of people released with an ICE detainer from January to July 2026. See Will an ICE hold keep me in a California jail?

What protects me in court?

Your status stays private. In a California criminal case, your immigration status can't be raised in open court unless the judge first holds a private hearing and finds it relevant, under Evidence Code 351.4.

You don't have to tell the judge your status. No one has to disclose immigration status to the court when entering a plea, under Penal Code 1016.5(d).

What protects me before I plead?

This is where California law does the most.

Your lawyer must give you correct immigration advice (Penal Code 1016.3(a), since 2016). Every defense lawyer, paid or appointed, must give accurate and affirmative advice about the immigration effects of a plea, and must try to avoid them if you want, under Penal Code 1016.3. See Before you take a plea deal.

The prosecutor must consider immigration effects (Penal Code 1016.3(b), since 2016). Avoiding harsh immigration effects is one factor prosecutors must weigh in plea talks. See Can the prosecutor consider immigration consequences?

The judge must warn you, word for word (Penal Code 1016.5, changed by SB 281). Before any guilty or no contest plea, the judge must tell you a conviction may lead to deportation, exclusion or denial of citizenship. Since January 1, 2026, the judge must read the exact words on the record, under SB 281. If you ask, you get more time to think.

Misdemeanors top out at 364 days (Penal Code 18.5, since 2015). Many immigration rules turn on a sentence of 1 year. California capped misdemeanor jail at 364 days, under Penal Code 18.5. See Why the length of a sentence matters.

The drug "public nuisance" plea (Penal Code 372.5, since 2023). A negotiated plea can be to public nuisance, with drug charges dismissed, under Penal Code 372.5, added by AB 2195. For many non citizens, that is far safer than a drug conviction. See A drug charge option that protects immigrants.

Diversion without a guilty plea.

• Drug diversion (Penal Code 1000). Since January 1, 2018, it requires a not guilty plea, and taking part is not a conviction or admission, under Penal Code 1000.1.
• Misdemeanor diversion (Penal Code 1001.95). A judge can grant it, even if the prosecutor objects, for up to 24 months, with some exclusions, under Penal Code 1001.95.
• Mental health diversion (Penal Code 1001.36). For people whose diagnosed condition played a significant part in the offense, under Penal Code 1001.36.

Diversion is not always safe. Some programs need an admission, and some immigration officers look closely at them. See Is a diversion program safe if I am not a citizen?

What can fix an old conviction?

A motion to vacate (Penal Code 1473.7). If you are out of criminal custody and a legal error kept you from understanding or defending against the immigration effects of a plea, you can ask the court to vacate the conviction, under Penal Code 1473.7. It is timely any time you are out of custody, but you must act with reasonable diligence once you get a notice to appear or a removal order. A conviction vacated for a legal defect does not count for immigration, the USCIS Policy Manual says. You can use Form CR-187.

Old drug diversion pleas (Penal Code 1203.43, since 2016). If you finished deferred entry of judgment on or after January 1, 1997, the court can let you withdraw that plea as legally invalid, under Penal Code 1203.43. See Clearing an old drug diversion plea.

Lowering a sentence (Penal Code 18.5(b)). If you got a one year misdemeanor sentence before January 1, 2015, you can ask the court to change it to 364 days, under Penal Code 18.5. Be aware that the Board of Immigration Appeals held in Matter of Velasquez-Rios that the change does not help with one deportation rule for older crimes. Ask your lawyer.

Reducing a felony (Penal Code 17(b) and Prop 47). A "wobbler" can become a misdemeanor for all purposes under California law, under Penal Code 17(b), and Prop 47 lets some old felonies be redesignated, under Penal Code 1170.18, with no general filing deadline. Immigration agencies may not treat these as erasing the felony for every purpose. See Reducing a felony to a misdemeanor.

Survivors of trafficking and abuse (Penal Code 236.14 and 236.15). Survivors can ask to vacate nonviolent convictions that resulted directly from being trafficked, or from intimate partner or sexual violence, under Penal Code 236.14. A trafficking survivor can file any time.

A governor's pardon. A full and unconditional pardon from the Governor waives some deportation grounds, like crimes involving moral turpitude and aggravated felonies, but not drug offenses, under 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(A)(vi). It costs nothing to apply, per the Governor's office. See Can a California governor's pardon help an immigrant?

What usually does NOT help: expungement. A dismissal under Penal Code 1203.4 helps with jobs, but it still counts as a conviction for immigration, the USCIS Policy Manual says.

What about young people?

Juvenile records get extra protection. Juvenile case information may not be shared with federal officials without a juvenile court order, under Welfare and Institutions Code 831. And a juvenile delinquency finding is generally not a conviction for immigration. See Can a juvenile record affect immigration or DACA?

What don't these laws do?

Be clear eyed about the limits.

• They don't bind federal agents or immigration judges. ICE and immigration courts follow federal law.
• They can't erase a conviction for every purpose. Only some fixes, like a 1473.7 vacatur for a legal defect, count for immigration.
• Some new laws can hurt. Proposition 36 (2024) created new drug treatment felonies. Legal groups warn the treatment path still starts with a guilty plea, which can count as a conviction for immigration. See What Prop 36 means for immigrants.
• Not every bill passes. For example, AB 1306, which would have stopped state prisons from transferring some people to ICE, was vetoed in 2023, and we found no later law. Check New California laws that help immigrant families for the latest.

What does this look like in real life?

Example (fictional). Mai has a green card. In 2012 she finished a drug diversion program and was told her case was "gone." When she applied for citizenship, USCIS saw the old plea. Her lawyer used Penal Code 1203.43 to withdraw the plea as legally invalid, then filed her citizenship case with the new court order.

Questions people ask

Do these laws protect people without papers too? Yes. Most apply to every non citizen, whatever their status.

Does my public defender know these laws? They are required to give correct immigration advice. Ask: "Have you checked the immigration effects of this plea with an immigration expert?"

My case is in federal court. Do these apply? Mostly no. These are California laws for California cases.

Is there a deadline to fix an old conviction? It depends on the law. Penal Code 1473.7 requires diligence once immigration action starts. Others, like 1203.43, have no deadline in their text. Don't wait.

Who can help?

Contact them to confirm hours, languages and openings. Being listed here is not a referral or a promise of service.

• Your defense lawyer or public defender. For Santa Clara County cases, the Public Defender's main line is (408) 299-7700. San Mateo County has no public defender office; the court appoints the Private Defender Program, (650) 298-4000. Elsewhere in California, ask the court for the public defender.
• Anywhere in California: the California Department of Social Services provider map, or call (916) 651-8017.
• San Mateo and Santa Clara county residents with low income: Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA), (650) 326-6440, for removal defense and record clearance.
• Anywhere in the U.S.: search ImmigrationLawHelp.org by zip code.
• More help: Arrests, records and immigration: the complete guide

California wrote these laws so that one case does not have to cost you your family and your home. Use them, early, with a good lawyer at your side.