Law enforcement: cooperation with immigration officials.

Existing law authorizes a local law enforcement agency to cooperate with federal immigration authorities regarding an individual under certain circumstances, including if the individual has been previously convicted of certain crimes or if the individual is arrested and brought before a magistrate on a charge involving a serious or violent felony, as defined, or a felony that is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, and a magistrate makes a specified finding of probable cause to a complaint based on that charge. This bill would add additional qualifying convictions that would authorize local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities regarding the individual. The bill would additionally authorize local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities regarding an individual arrested on a charge involving a serious or violent felony, as defined, or a felony that is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, if a magistrate makes any finding of probable cause to that charge. The bill would also authorize that cooperation with regard to arrests on charges involving additional crimes, including, among other things, domestic violence, sexual assault, and driving under the influence, or to an individual who is a member of a criminal street gang, as defined. The bill would require the Department of Justice to develop a process to provide a notification to a local law enforcement agency that books, or is holding in custody upon booking, an individual for which cooperation with federal immigration authorities is authorized, as specified. The bill would provide that a law enforcement agency not so notified by the department, or that substantially relies on information provided by the department, or information that is otherwise lawfully known, observed, or obtained, would not be liable for any act or omission related to cooperation or noncooperation with immigration officials that was undertaken or occurred in good faith and in substantial compliance with state law.