Controversial Immigrant Services Bill Passes in Senate

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Assembly Bill 2624 was authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, and aims to protect workers and volunteers from having their personal identification details made public.

The bill passed in the Senate 30 to 10 along party lines, with all 10 Republican senators voting against the measure. The bill now goes back to the Assembly for a final vote before it advances to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom for his signature.

Bonta introduced the bill earlier this year after concerns that the workers were being targeted for harassment and threats.

Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, presented the bill for a vote on the Senate floor on Tuesday afternoon and said in remarks on the floor that the bill was introduced this year as a response to immigrant services workers sounding the alarm on employees’ and volunteers’ safety.

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The state’s Safe At Home program was launched roughly 28 years ago to protect those who work for local and state agencies from having certain information, like their address, disclosed in public records. The program protected workers from stalking, human trafficking and other violent acts, according to a legislative analysis, and it applied to domestic violence victims and reproductive health care workers. AB 2624 expands the protection to immigrant services workers.

Opponents of the bill said on the Senate floor Tuesday that the bill runs afoul of the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

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