California GOP lawmaker wants to end ‘sanctuary state’ protections for sex traffickers

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CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN INTRODUCES BILL TO REMOVE ‘SANCTUARY STATE’ PROTECTIONS FOR SEX TRAFFICKERS

Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, R-Temecula, has an ambitious agenda this legislative session. There’s her bill to ban transgender girls from female high school sports, her bill to kill the California high-speed rail project, and now her bill to repeal California’s “Sanctuary State” protections for undocumented immigrants accused of sex trafficking.

“Right here in California, human trafficking is tearing apart families, exploiting the vulnerable, and robbing individuals of their freedom,” Sanchez said in a statement. “This reprehensible evil thrives in the shadows — powered by greed, fear, and silence. Silence is not an option.”

Her bill, announced Monday, does not yet have a number, and was not yet online.

According to a statement from the lawmaker’s office, the bill would completely exempt sex traffickers from the state law prohibiting local law enforcement from cooperating with the feds. It is unclear whether the law would apply only to those found guilty of a sex trafficking offense or whether, as in the federal Laken Riley Act, it would apply to those who were accused, but not yet convicted, of a crime.

It is worth noting that California’s sanctuary state law already excludes convicted sex traffickers from those protections.

“Sacramento cannot ignore the fact that the human trafficking crisis is directly related to the security of our southern border,” Sanchez said. “This legislation will help law enforcement crackdown on transnational traffickers while prioritizing the protection and recovery of survivors.”

While the other two bills mentioned above face dim prospects in a Democratic supermajority controlled Legislature, Sanchez may be banking on Sen. Shannon Grove’s successful pressure campaign that persuaded California Gov. Gavin Newsom to intervene on behalf of her bill SB 14 — to make sex trafficking of a minor a serious felony and a three strike offense — that resulted in the bill’s unanimous passage through both houses.

Will lightning strike twice?

We’ll see, as the bill will likely be heard in committee this spring. It’s worth noting that the Assembly Public Safety Committee, which will likely hear the bill, has a new chair — former prosecutor Nick Schultz, D-Burbank — who just so happens to have a track record of going after human traffickers.

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This story has been updated to reflect that California’s sanctuary state law already excludes convicted sex traffickers from its protections.

This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 4:55 AM with the headline "California GOP lawmaker wants to end ‘sanctuary state’ protections for sex traffickers."