Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus celebrates the policy's passage and looks forward to swift and full implementation by the city's local law enforcement leaders. "The ordinance will strengthen community confidence in law enforcement, protect immigrant crime victims and witnesses, and guard against separation of local families by severely limiting cruel and costly immigration holds in San Francisco. These are potentially unconstitutional detentions of immigrants in the local jail for extra time, at local expense, at the request of federal immigration authorities," said Angela Chan, Senior Staff Attorney at Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus.

While most counties other than San Francisco and Santa Clara currently lack any protections from abusive immigration holds, that will change come January 1, 2014, when the TRUST Act (AB 4) goes into effect across California. That bill will establish a minimum standard limiting responses to ICE hold requests across the state.

Under the San Francisco Due Process Ordinance, local law enforcement responses to ICE hold requests are only allowed where a person has both a prior conviction for certain felonies within the past seven years, and also faces a current charge under one of those statutes if a judge has found probable cause for such charge. Even in those circumstances, the Sheriff may consider positive equities such as rehabilitation and community contribution. These exceptions are to "sunset" within three years or upon the approval of national comprehensive immigration reform, whichever is sooner. In addition, under the Ordinance, local law enforcement cannot respond to any ICE hold requests for individuals under 18. The Ordinance is one of the strongest policies disentangling local law enforcement from civil immigration enforcement in the country.