Resources for Employers

The California Department of Justice and California Labor Commissioner’s Office have issued joint guidance on frequently asked questions to help employers and workers understand and comply with the Immigrant Worker Protection Act (Assembly Bill 450).

Guidance and Model Policies for Public Institutions

In December 2025, Attorney General Bonta issued updated guidance to TK-12 schools to help staff develop practical plans to protect the rights of immigrants and their families to safely access schools and programs in California.

Guidance and Model Policies to Assist California’s TK-12 Schools in Responding to Requests for Access and Information for Immigration Enforcement Purposes

In December 2024, Attorney General Bonta issued updated guidance to help staff develop practical plans to protect the rights of immigrants and their families to safely access public institutions by limiting support of immigration enforcement activity at these institutions.

SOURCE: https://oag.ca.gov/immigrant

Guidance and Model Policies for Public Institutions

In light of the President's xenophobic rhetoric and an anticipated uptick in hostility toward immigrant communities, Attorney General Bonta issued updated guidance and resources for law enforcement, prosecutors, and victims of hate crimes:

In California, it is considered a hate crime if you are targeted because of your actual or perceived nationality, including your immigration or citizenship status. If you witness or are the victim of a hate crime, you should report it to your local law enforcement agency. California law prohibits law enforcement authorities from asking individuals, including those who are reporting or victims of potential crimes, about their immigration status, unless the information is necessary to certify the victim for a U visa (victim of crime visa) or T visa (victim of human trafficking visa). SOURCE: https://oag.ca.gov/immigrant

Latest Immigration Legislation (2025)

SBX1-1: Enables California to legally defend against federal policies adversely impacting the state, its taxpayers and residents by providing the Department of Justice up to $25 million. Promotes transparency by requiring disclosure on a public website noting how this taxpayer money is being used.
SBX1-2: Strengthens resources for immigration and legal aid services by providing $10 million to the Legal Services Trust Fund, $10 million to the Immigration Services Funding program, also known as One California, as well as $5 million to be distributed to nonprofit organizations through the Judicial Council’s California Access to Justice Commission.
SB 81: Restores the immigrant community’s sense of safety in healthcare settings by prohibiting immigration enforcement officers into private areas of healthcare settings unless presented with a valid judicial warrant or court order. Establishes procedures for how employees in these settings should respond when immigration enforcement officers request access information about the immigrant patient or their family members.
SB 635: Safeguards the privacy of Californians bolstering local economies through street vending by prohibiting local agencies that regulate their businesses from collecting citizenship status or criminal background information.
SB 580: Preserves trust between California’s immigration community and state and local agencies by requiring the Attorney General to work with stakeholders in developing and publishing model policies for these agencies’ interactions with immigration enforcement.
SB 98: Informs students and school staff when immigration enforcement has been confirmed on K-12 and higher education campuses.
AB 49: Strengthens protections for California’s immigrant community by ensuring employees of an immigration enforcement agency are not allowed on school campuses without presenting a valid judicial warrant or court order. Prevents school officials from providing information about students, their families, teachers and school employees to immigration authorities.
SB 627: Fights for transparency from federal immigration agents by making it a crime for any peace officer operating in California from wearing a facial covering in the performance of their duties.
SB 805: Protects all Californians by expanding the crime of false impersonation of a peace officer; requires law enforcement agencies to adopt policies to visibly display identification, and requires specified law enforcement officers operating in California who are not uniformed to visibly display identification that includes either a name or badge number to the public when performing their duties.
AB 495: Strengthens protections for students at school by requiring local educational agencies to notify their loved ones of the students’ right to a free, public education and requires these agencies to ensure their policies regarding immigration enforcement activity stay updated with the CA Attorney General’s latest guidance. Additionally, requires the administrator of a child day care facility to request updated emergency contact information from parents and to report to the licensing agency and the California Attorney General (AG) any request for information by an officer of any law enforcement agency.
SB 281: Protects noncitizen legal defendants by requiring courts to administer a verbatim advisement about immigration consequences before accepting pleas of guilty or no contest.
AB 1261: Mandates the provision of legal counsel for immigrant youth, including unaccompanied undocumented minors in immigration-related proceedings.