What your city and county can do to protect immigrant neighbors

This page is about what local governments can do. It is general information, not legal advice. For your own rights in a stop or at home, see Your rights in California without immigration status.

We know many families feel that decisions about their safety are made far away. Some of the most important ones are made a few blocks from home, at city hall and the county board. You can be part of them.

What does California law already require of every city and county?

California sets a floor that applies in every city and county. No local "sanctuary" vote is needed for these.

The California Values Act (SB 54, since 2018). State and local law enforcement may not use their money, staff or buildings to investigate, question, detain or arrest people for immigration enforcement. In plain terms, local police and sheriffs may not:

• Ask about immigration status for immigration enforcement
• Hold someone in jail because ICE asked
• Arrest someone on an ICE civil warrant
• Give ICE someone's home or work address, unless it is already public
• Act as immigration officers, including through 287(g) agreements
• Give ICE its own office in a local jail or police building

There are narrow exceptions, mostly for people with serious criminal convictions. The full list is on Does California law stop local police from helping ICE?

Model policies for public places. The same law told the Attorney General to write model policies that limit help with immigration enforcement "to the fullest extent possible" at public schools, public libraries, public health facilities, courthouses, labor offices and shelters. Public schools, public health facilities and courthouses must adopt that policy or an equal one. Libraries, shelters and others are encouraged to.

The TRUTH Act (Government Code 7283.1). This law adds openness:

• Before ICE interviews someone in a local jail, the jail must give a written consent form that says the interview is voluntary and the person may say no or have a lawyer present.
• If a jail gets an ICE hold, notification or transfer request, it must give the person a copy and say whether it plans to comply.
• Records about ICE access are public records, with personal details blacked out as the law allows.
• Each year, if local police gave ICE access to anyone in the past year, the city or county governing body must hold at least one public community forum, with at least 30 days' notice.

That forum is your chance to ask questions and speak, in public, about how your county works with ICE.

License plate data. California law bars state and local police from sharing data from automated license plate readers with federal and out of state agencies. In October 2025, the Attorney General sued a California city for sharing it anyway.

New in 2025 and 2026. Schools, clinics and courthouses got new protections, and the state limited use of state property for immigration operations. See New California laws that help immigrant families this year.

What can a city or county add on top of state law?

State law is the floor, not the ceiling. Cities and counties have used many tools. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center has collected examples from around the country. Common ones include:

Keeping local systems out of immigration enforcement

• Stricter jail rules than the Values Act, like refusing all ICE notification requests unless a judge signed a warrant
• No immigration enforcement on city or county property, like parks, clinics, libraries and offices, with signs and staff training
• Strong data privacy rules, limiting what local agencies collect about immigration status and what they share, including camera and license plate data
• Ending contracts that support immigration detention

Helping families directly

• Funding free legal help for people facing deportation, including in detention
• Funding a rapid response hotline that people can call when they see ICE activity
• Know your rights education in many languages
• Language access at city and county offices
• Help with the caregiver forms and family plans parents can prepare in case they are detained

Openness

• Public reports on any contact between local police and ICE
• Annual TRUTH Act forums held at times and places families can reach
• An office of immigrant affairs to coordinate services

Remember the limit: local rules bind local staff, not federal agents. A city can keep its own police and property out of enforcement. It cannot stop ICE from enforcing federal law. Local rules also face lawsuits from the federal government, as Los Angeles has.

What have our counties done?

Here is what we could confirm on official pages as of October 21, 2026. Policies change, so ask your leaders what is current.

San Mateo County

• The county funds Faith in Action to run a 24 hour Rapid Response Hotline at (203) 666-4472 for ICE contact or sightings.
• The county's rapid response page offers bilingual hotline cards, know your rights red cards in eight languages, immigrant resource guides, family preparedness plan templates and fact sheets on rights in many settings.
• In April 2023, the Board limited the use of county staff and resources to help immigration enforcement. On November 18, 2025, it voted to strengthen that ordinance, including requiring the Sheriff's Office to log every request from federal immigration agents and report them quarterly (county release). The county's pages do not say how the Sheriff handles ICE notification and transfer requests today. Ask at the county's TRUTH Act forum or call your supervisor's office.

Santa Clara County

• The Board of Supervisors adopted a civil detainer policy in 2011. In June 2019, it voted to keep it, and to keep refusing to hold anyone past release for ICE without a judicial warrant (county release, June 5, 2019). That is the latest official statement we found. Ask the Clerk of the Board for the current policy text.
• In October 2025, the Board voted unanimously to start drafting rules to keep immigration enforcement off county property. In December 2025, news reports said the Board passed the ordinance, barring federal agents from using county parking lots, garages and vacant lots to stage operations (Patch, December 9, 2025). We found this only in news reports, not on a county page, so ask the Clerk of the Board for the ordinance text before you rely on it.
• The county's Rapid Response Network runs a 24 hour line at (408) 290-1144.

East Palo Alto

• The police department's Immigration Rights page offers know your rights sheets and rapid response numbers. It does not state the city's policies. Ask the City Clerk or a council member, and check council agendas on the city website.

How can I push for change in my city or county?

You do not need to be a citizen to do this. See How to talk to your lawmakers for the full guide. The short version:

1. Learn what exists. Use the list below to ask what your city and county already do.
2. Find allies. Churches, schools, unions, clinics and legal aid groups often support these policies. A group is stronger than one person.
3. Pick one clear ask. "Fund legal help for detained residents." Or "Hold the TRUTH Act forum in East Palo Alto in the evening, with Spanish and Tongan interpretation."
4. Speak at public comment. Every regular meeting must let the public speak on items within the board's job. If you use an interpreter, you get at least twice the time.
5. Meet with your council member or supervisor. Bring two or three people and one page of facts.
6. Ask for public records. TRUTH Act records about ICE access are public. A legal aid group or local reporter can help you request them. See How to find out what local police share with immigration agents.
7. Ask candidates. At election time, ask where they stand. See Questions to ask sheriff and district attorney candidates.
8. Follow through. Thank leaders who act. Come back if a promise is not kept.

What if I think a local agency broke the law?

• Write it down: date, time, place, agency, officer name or badge number, what happened, and who saw it.
• Talk to a lawyer first if someone is in custody.
• Tell the California Attorney General. The AG asks people to email immigration@doj.ca.gov about enforcement or a possible violation, or to report a rights violation at oag.ca.gov/report.
• File a complaint with the city or county agency.

Quick answers

Is my city a "sanctuary city"? People use the word in different ways, so ask about actual policies instead. The Values Act applies statewide, so every city and county follows the same baseline. Some go further. Ask your leaders what your city has adopted.

Can a city stop ICE from coming? No. A city can keep its own police, staff and property out of enforcement, but it cannot stop federal agents from enforcing federal law.

Can a county just ignore the Values Act? No. It is state law. If an agency breaks it, report it to the Attorney General.

Do these policies protect people with criminal records? Some state exceptions allow sharing for people with certain serious convictions. Local policies can be stricter. Ask a lawyer about your own case.

Does my school district have a policy? Public schools must adopt the Attorney General's model policy or an equal one. Ask your school board for a copy. See Can immigration agents come to my child's school?

Who can help?

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

• 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
• 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
• California Attorney General: immigration@doj.ca.gov
• Anywhere in California: the state's map of free immigration legal services, or call (916) 651-8017

Is there a list I can bring to a meeting?

Change at city hall is slow, and it is real. Every protection on this page exists because neighbors kept showing up. You can be one of them.