City of Sacramento
City Council - 2PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2025-02007 1/27/2026
An Update to the City of Sacramento’s Legislative and Programmatic Support for Immigrants and Refugees (Immigration Platform)
File ID: 2025-02007
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution approving an Immigration Platform that establishes the policy and legislative agenda for the City on immigration matters.
Contact: Philip Norton, Chief of Staff, (916) 808-7006, [email protected], Office of Mayor Pro Tem Eric Guerra; Monika Lee, Chief of Staff, (916) 808-7235, [email protected], Office of Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes; Susan Khang, Director of Policy and Constituent Affairs, (916) 808-7337, [email protected], Office of Councilmember Mai Vang
Presenter: Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes, (916) 808-7003, [email protected], District 3; Mayor Pro Tem Eric Guerra, (916) 808-7006, [email protected], District 6; Councilmember Mai Vang, (916) 808-7008, [email protected], District 8 Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
3-Exhibit A - Immigration Platform
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: Considering the recent and anticipated expansion of federal immigration enforcement activity during the administration, with this action updating its Immigration Platform, the City (1) reaffirms that the city of Sacramento is a city of refuge for immigrants of all nationalities and beliefs; and (2) adopts a citywide Immigration Platform and policy.
Policy Considerations: The report provides the rationale for the updated Immigration Platform and, if adopted, constitutes legislative and programmatic direction for the City with regards to immigration- related issues that are in line with the California Values Act (SB 54).
Economic Impacts: Adoption of these policies will support immigrant families who reside in the City
File ID: 2025-02007 1/27/2026
to remain in Sacramento. Immigrants play a vital role in construction and food economy and as such any loss or reduction in this vital workforce could harm several industries.
Environmental Considerations: This report concerns administrative activities that do not constitute a “project” as defined by section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines and is otherwise exempt pursuant to sections 15061(b)(3); 15378(b)(2).
Sustainability: Not applicable.
Commission/Committee Action: Not applicable.
Rationale for Recommendation: Sacramento immigrants comprise a significant portion of our City’s residents. Our community has benefited from being one of the most integrated and diverse cities in the United States. Sacramento has a strong history of reaching out and welcoming people of diverse backgrounds and immigration status.
In 2017, the City established the Safe Haven Task Force to, among other issues, determine if the current legislative platform and/or policy objectives were consistent with the goals and principles long supported by the Council. The taskforce directed that an updated Citywide Platform be prepared for the Council to consider and discuss. Thereafter, the City Council adopted the “Legislative Platform and Programmatic Support for Immigrant and Refugees in the City of Sacramento.” This has been and remains the policy of the City with respect to all the residents of Sacramento. However, given the recent increase in immigration enforcement operations and questionable policies by the Trump administration, the City now seeks to update its Immigration Platform to, among other issues, continue using legislative and legal avenues to challenge and restrain enforcement actions that violate civil liberties.
Protecting due process and equal protection under the law is essential to preserving public trust and ensuring that all individuals, regardless of background or immigration status, are treated with fairness and dignity. Notable examples of such efforts are the legal decisions and ongoing litigation in Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem and United Farm Workers v. Noem, which collectively prohibit federal immigration agents from conducting warrantless stops, arrests, and sweeps that disproportionately target individuals based on race, ethnicity, language, or perceived immigration status, practices that undermine constitutional rights and fuel fear and mistrust in immigrant communities. Together, these decisions represent a vital defense of constitutional protections. They affirm the principle that immigration enforcement must be conducted with respect for the rule of law and human dignity not through racial or ethnic profiling, warrantless intrusions, or unjustified targeting.
Financial Considerations: The potential impact of the adoption of these policies and programs is not yet quantified as it may affect federal resources available to the City.
File ID: 2025-02007 1/27/2026
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
RESOLUTION NO. 2026-__________
Adopted by the Sacramento City Council
_______________, 2026
AN UPDATE TO THE CITY OF SACRAMENTO’S LEGISLATIVE AND PROGRAMMATIC
SUPPORT FOR IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES
BACKGROUND
A. Sacramento has a long-standing history of embracing diversity, which is the foundation of America's strength. We uphold the fundamental principles of inclusion and unity with respect for the rule of law and the value of human dignity.
B. Sacramento is a major resettlement destination for immigrants and refugees who provide important economic and cultural benefits to our community.
C. The City respects, upholds, and values equal protection and equal treatment for all its residents, regardless of immigration status. Fostering a relationship of trust, respect, and open communication between City employees and all residents is essential to the City's core mission of ensuring public health, safety, and welfare, and serving the needs of everyone in the community.
D. The City seeks to protect public safety, which is founded on, and dependent on, trust and cooperation between community residents and local law enforcement. The City has enacted numerous non-discrimination policies and modern police practices to strengthen communities and to build trust between communities and local law enforcement. However, this trust is threatened by federal immigration enforcement activity, instilling fear in immigrant communities to come forward to report crimes and cooperate with local law enforcement agencies.
E. Considering the recent and anticipated expansion of federal immigration enforcement activity, updating the City’s Immigration Platform is important to reaffirm that Sacramento is a city of refuge for immigrants of all nationalities and beliefs.
BASED ON THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE BACKGROUND, THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Purpose and Intent. This Resolution is to update and adopt the City’s Immigration Platform that establishes and guides the policy and legislative agenda for the City on immigration-related matters.
Section 2. Exhibit A is part of this Resolution.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Exhibit A – Immigration Platform
1 CITY OF SACRAMENTO
IMMIGRATION PLATFORM
XX/XX/XXXX
Platform Overview
Sacramento has a long- standing history of embracing diversity which is the foundation of America's strength. We uphold the fundamental principles of inclusion and unity with respect for the rule of law and the value of human dignity. Sacramento is a major resettlement destination for refugees; in the past decades , thousands have fled violent conflict and found new homes in the City and the surrounding Sacramento region.
Opening doors for those escaping war and oppression does not endanger our security; immigrants and refugees provide important economic and cultural benefits to our community.
General Policy Statements
As a city dependent upon the success of our immigrant residents, the City of Sacramento will:
• Uphold our values by honoring the tradition of providing a safe place for immigrants seeking a life of freedom and opportunity;
• Ensure that the fundamental rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and by the California Constitution apply to every person in our city;
• Ensure that the City will protect the rights of all residents to peacefully assemble in protest on public spaces;
• Uphold the rights of all its residents, including the right to equal treatment under the law, the right to due process, and the right to liberty;
• Uphold the right to peaceably assemble including the ability to picket, chant, distribute literature, and gather in public areas;
• Uphold the rights of residents to record and otherwise document interactions with immigration and customs enforcement officers;
• Protect and preserve the right to free speech in and around the area surrounding the John Moss Federal Building, enshrining First Amendment activities;
2 • Consistent with the California Value’s Act (SB 54), 2017, ensure there is no access to City data or information that can be used to determine or trace a person’s Citizenship or Immigration Status by any Immigration enforcement agent. Additionally, to the extent permitted by law, no City official, employee, contractor or agent of the City shall provide any City data or information that can be used to determine or trace a person’s Citizenship or Immigration Status;
• Support the efforts of local resettlement organizations that help refugee families establish new lives in Sacramento;
• Support efforts that maximize educational opportunities for all immigrant students, including access to public education and financial assistance as an investment in our collective future;
• Support efforts to provide educational opportunities in English instruction and cultural immersion;
• Support efforts to provide equal access to housing for all immigrants and condemn any xenophobic or racist conduct that denies equal housing to all, including a landlord's inquiry into the citizenship or immigration status of a tenant or prospective tenant;
• Support efforts to promote available government services to immigrant communities;
• Encourage the cooperation of state and local law enforcement with immigrant communities in the interest of public safety;
• Oppose any authorization of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers impersonating local law enforcement officers, or misrepresenting facts or law, as it works against immigrant and local law enforcement cooperation;
• Oppose efforts by law enforcement agencies that abuse discretion including, but not limited to, unfairly targeting, threatening, intimidating, or otherwise harassing people because of their citizenship and/or immigration status;
• Oppose local law enforcement agencies acting in conjunction with federal immigration law enforcement to investigate, arrest, or detain persons on the basis of alleged violation(s) of the civil provisions of federal immigration laws or of other non- violent crimes;
• Oppose the abuse of authority by federal law enforcement officers—including, but not limited to, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents—who engage in discriminatory practices under the guise of immigration or public safety enforcement.
Specifically, we reject actions that involve the targeting, threatening, intimidation, detention, or arrest of individuals based solely on race, language, national origin, or
3 occupation;
• The above practices not only undermine constitutional protections but also erode community trust and foster fear among immigrant and marginalized communities.
Enforcement decisions must be guided by lawful standards, individualized suspicion, and respect for due process—not by bias, profiling, or perceived immigration status;
• Absent narrow exemptions, support policies against the use of face-concealing masks by all law enforcement officers —including those from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) —during operations to detain or question individuals believed to be undocumented immigrants. The broad practice of obscuring officers’ identities during all enforcement operations without compelling justification undermines public trust, accountability, and transparency;
• Support the federal VISIBLE Act (Visible Identification Standards for Immigration- Based Law Enforcement) 1, which would require federal immigration enforcement agents to clearly display agency affiliation and identifying information, while banning the use of face coverings that obscure identity —except when necessary for health, safety, or covert operations;
• Support litigation aimed at preventing unconstitutional, warrantless stops that disproportionately target immigrant communities based on race, ethnicity, language, or perceived immigration status;
• Oppose scapegoating, racial profiling, religious profiling, bigotry, vigilantism, exploitation, and any other xenophobic conduct;
• Denounce actions, by government or otherwise, that keep undocumented immigrants in the shadows of our society;
• Encourage residents to report abuses and crimes among or against immigrants without fear for reporting such abuse;
• Ensure law enforcement can continue to investigate criminal activity, including but not limited to, human trafficking, sexual assault, domestic violence, the sale, distribution, and manufacturing of illegal narcotics, and violent crimes. In all other respects, City officials, employees and agents may continue to comply with lawfully issued judicial warrants or subpoenas and cooperate with federal authorities to protect public safety.
This collaboration includes, but is not limited to, part icipation in joint criminal investigations that are permitted under City policy and applicable federal or state law;
• Send a national message of unity and inclusion by joining the United States Welcoming Cities and Counties Network1; and
1 https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2212/text
4 • Support national efforts on comprehensive immigration reform that fixes our nation’s broken immigration system, improves border security, prioritizes enforcement so we are targeting criminals - not families, keeps families together, and strengthens our economy.
1 https://welcomingamerica.org/welcoming-network/network-directory