Controversial immigrant services bill passes in Senate

The bill passed in the Senate 30 to 10 along party lines, with all 10 Republican senators voting against the measure. The bill now goes back to the Assembly for a final vote before it advances to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom for his signature.

Bonta introduced the bill earlier this year after concerns that the workers were being targeted for harassment and threats.

Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, presented the bill for a vote on the Senate floor on Tuesday afternoon and said in remarks on the floor that the bill was introduced this year as a response to immigrant services workers sounding the alarm on employees’ and volunteers’ safety.

“Unfortunately, due to our current political climate, immigrant support providers across California report doxxing of staff and volunteers at immigration legal aid organizations, coordinated death threats against service providers, anti-immigrant vigilante activity directed at organizations by name and address,” Gonzalez said on the Senate floor.

The state’s Safe At Home program was launched roughly 28 years ago to protect those who work for local and state agencies from having certain information, like their address, disclosed in public records. The program protected workers from stalking, human trafficking and other violent acts, according to a legislative analysis, and it applied to domestic violence victims and reproductive health care workers. AB 2624 expands the protection to immigrant services workers.

Opponents of the bill said on the Senate floor Tuesday that the bill runs afoul of the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

“There’s a lot of provisions in here that actually go against the freedom of speech,” Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, told senators. “Part of it is actually the investigative reporting end.”

Republican lawmakers' nickname for the bill, the “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” refers to an independent YouTube journalist Nick Shirley, who created videos investigating daycare fraud in Minnesota. State politicians have voiced concern that the bill would essentially criminalize investigative journalism.

“Nick Shirley is an individual who uncovered a lot of fraud that went into the hospice system, and instead of the governor and the controller thanking Nick Shirley for finding waste, fraud and abuse in California’s budget, this is the response to Nick Shirley,” Strickland said on the Senate floor. “This is the response, to make it harder for people to do investigative reporting and take away First Amendment rights.”

However, Bonta’s fellow Oakland legislator, Democratic Sen. Jesse Arreguin, said on the Senate floor that the bill doesn't impact journalists' ability to investigate stories.

“It’s about ensuring that community providers have the safety and security to do their jobs,” Arreguin said. “This is not about attacking journalists and their ability to investigate and report facts. The Safe At Home program only applies when there’s proof that somebody’s experiencing threats and harassment to be eligible to participate in that program.”