Sunday, September 21, 2025

Newsom Signs Immigration Bills Authored by Pasadena’s Senator Pérez

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two immigration-related bills authored by Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) on Saturday in Los Angeles, enacting measures that immediately affect school safety protocols and law enforcement identification standards across California.

The legislation—SB 98, the SAFE Act, and SB 805, the No Vigilantes Act—both contain urgency clauses and take effect immediately. SB 98 requires K-12 schools and higher education institutions to issue alerts when immigration enforcement authorities are present on campus, mirroring emergency notification systems already in place.

“California must ensure that our schools and colleges remain places where students can learn and thrive, teachers can teach with confidence, and classrooms provide a safe environment for our next generation,” Pérez said. “The SAFE Act will help inform and empower school communities to make the best decisions about their safety and their family’s safety.”

SB 805 expands existing laws against impersonating peace officers by making it illegal to impersonate federal agents and requiring all law enforcement operating in California to clearly display identification that includes their agency and either a name, badge number, or both. The law also authorizes law enforcement to request identification from anyone claiming to be law enforcement and bans bounty hunters from engaging in any form of immigration enforcement in California.

“The No Vigilantes Act responds to troubling immigration enforcement activities in which masked agents have seized people off the street without showing an agency name, personal identification, or badge number, alongside a rise in law enforcement impersonation cases and efforts in other states to recruit bounty hunters for immigration enforcement,” Pérez said. “By requiring law enforcement officers to display proper identification, clarifying that bounty hunters cannot enforce immigration laws, and ensuring impersonators are brought to justice, this measure will help rebuild the community’s trust.”

“These two new laws hold the power to protect and inform our immigrant communities in the face of the federal administration’s cruel and escalating immigration enforcement operations in our state,” Pérez added. “As we see so many families in fear and confused by these mass deportation raids, Governor Newsom has boldly responded by signing my legislation into law and asserting in one collective voice that California will not stand by and simply watch as President Trump deploys a secret police force to terrorize good people.”

SB 98 is a priority bill of the California Latino Legislative Caucus and is sponsored by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, the University of California Student Association, California State Student Association, Student Senate for California Community Colleges, California Faculty Association, California State PTA, and GENup.

Pérez chairs the Senate Education Committee and represents the 25th Senate District, which includes Pasadena, Altadena, South Pasadena, Glendale, Alhambra, Arcadia, Claremont, Glendora, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta-Montrose, Monrovia, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, Sierra Madre, Temple City, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, and San Antonio Heights.