Brown Signs Law Limiting Detention Of Immigrants

SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that prohibits local law enforcement agencies from detaining people for deportation if they are arrested for a minor crime and otherwise eligible to be released from custody.

AB4 by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, was one of eight immigration-related measures Brown signed on Saturday. The governor also approved a bill allowing lawyers to be admitted to the California bar even if they living in the U.S. illegally.

Ammiano's legislation creates a statewide standard for how local agencies comply with the federal Secure Communities program, which requires law enforcement to check the immigration status of any one who is arrested.

The governor vetoed a similar measure last year because it did not let officials detain those convicted of crimes such as child abuse and drug trafficking, exemptions that were removed from this year's version.

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