By Sean Ridgway, TME
At the August 19 Kern County Board of Supervisors meeting, local law enforcement and civil-rights advocates spoke pointedly about how state immigrant-protection laws are applied in Kern County.
California has a set of laws intended to limit local participation in federal immigration enforcement and protect immigrant communities’ access to schools, health care, and other public services. Among the most important are:
The Trust Act (AB 4, 2014): prevents local jails from holding people beyond their release date solely for deportation purposes, except in limited circumstances tied to qualifying convictions.
The Truth Act (AB 2792, 2017): requires local law enforcement to notify detained people when federal immigration officials request interviews and to make certain data publicly available.
The Values Act (SB 54, 2017): California’s strongest statewide sanctuary law, which restricts use of state and local resources for federal immigration enforcement and protects access to institutions such as schools, hospitals, and courthouses.
Lieutenant Joel Swanson of the Kern County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) laid out how…(please see below to view full stories and photographs)
Photo captions:
Above top: Kern County Board of Supervisors’ Truth Act Community Forum on August 19, 2025; Bottom left: Lieutenant Joel Swanson; Bottom right: ACLU representative Mayra Joachin
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This is part of the August 29, 2025 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.
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