Attorney General Bonta Issues Guidance and Model Policies for State and Local Agency Interactions with Immigration Authorities and Protection of Agency-Held Data

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued guidance and model policies for state and local agencies to inform their interactions with immigration enforcement authorities, consistent with federal and state law. The guidance, developed pursuant to Senate Bill 580, is meant to help state and local agencies understand their obligations under federal and state law relating to interactions with immigration authorities, with a particular focus on guidelines, model policies, and further recommendations for handling personal sensitive information collected and maintained by agencies that might be requested, demanded, or otherwise accessed for use in immigration enforcement. More guidance and resources can be found at oag.ca.gov/immigrant.

"The Trump Administration may lawfully enforce federal civil immigration laws, but it cannot force state and local agencies to do the same," said Attorney General Bonta. "California has passed laws to help California's immigrant communities safely access public spaces and to provide state and local agencies with the resources they need to appropriately respond when immigration agents knock on their doors. This new guidance is a vital resource that builds on our ongoing work to protect the millions of immigrants who call California home."

The guidance covers five key areas:

1. Overview of Relevant Laws and Legal Frameworks: This section covers federal authority and responsibility over immigration enforcement and related subject matter. This section also provides a brief overview of the constitutional framework that allows states to limit participation in administering and enforcing federal law, as well as California laws that limit the use of state and local resources for immigration enforcement purposes.

2. Guidance and Model Policies Regarding Immigration Enforcement Intrusions into Agency Spaces: This section discusses attempts by immigration authorities to conduct enforcement operations within or around agency facilities and provides a framework for evaluating and responding to these intrusions. This section goes over examples of documents that are commonly used in the immigration enforcement context and explains which documents convey legal authority for immigration authorities to enter specified locations and which do not.

3. Guidance and Model Policies Regarding Information Requests and Demands from Immigration Enforcement Authorities: This section addresses attempts by immigration authorities to access information from state and local agencies. State and local agencies may receive requests from immigration authorities seeking information regarding individuals, agency operations, public benefits records, employment records, addresses, schedules, photographs, or other agency-held information or data. This section discusses laws that bear on these requests and demands, explains the forms that requests for information or data access may take, and provides guidance and model policies for identifying, evaluating, and determining responses to requests for data.

4. Guidance, Audit Criteria, and Training Recommendations Regarding Agency Databases: This section provides recommendations aimed at ensuring that agencies and their vendors manage or engage with databases in a manner that makes the availability of information to anyone or any entity for purposes of immigration enforcement limited to the fullest extent practicable, consistent with federal and state law.

5. Information for Agencies and Stakeholders: This section provides community-based resources and information on tools that state and local agencies can provide to the public when responding to immigration-related concerns.

Community Briefing:

On Thursday, July 16, 2026 at 10:00 AM PT, the California Department of Justice's Office of Community Awareness, Response, and Engagement (CARE) will host a Community Briefing to highlight California DOJ's new model policies, published pursuant to SB 580, that demonstrate how state and local agencies should interact with immigration enforcement officials in a manner that is lawful and consistent with California values. You can register here.

Recent Work:

Attorney General Bonta is committed to holding ICE accountable and standing up for California's immigrant communities. Attorney General Bonta previously issued guidance and model policies for licensed child care facilities and preschool programs in California regarding their new legal responsibilities under Assembly Bill 495.

Earlier this month, Attorney General Bonta filed a lawsuit seeking to block the illegal development of an ICE facility in unincorporated Santa Clara County near Gilroy, California. Attorney General Bonta previously led amicus briefs in supporting Minnesota's lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration's extraordinary campaign of lawlessness during its deployment of ICE, in opposing unlawful immigration stops in the Central Valley, and to stop ICE and Customs and Border Protection from engaging in unlawful practices in Los Angeles.

Last month, Attorney General Bonta released the California Department of Justice's fifth report on cruel, inhumane, and unacceptable conditions at immigration detention facilities operating in California. He also filed an amicus brief opposing the conditions of confinement at Adelanto ICE Processing Center and sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security shining a light on dangerous conditions at the recently reopened California City Detention Facility.