If you live in California, state law gives you a substantial set of rights and protections regardless of your immigration status, covering police encounters, driver’s licenses, professional licensing, public schools and colleges, your job, your rental home, and health care. California immigrant rights do not change your federal immigration status and cannot stop ICE from acting on its own authority, but they do control how state and local agencies, employers, and landlords are allowed to treat you.
What Local Police and Sheriffs Can and Cannot Do
The California Values Act, Government Code section 7284 (often called SB 54), limits how state and local law enforcement work with federal immigration authorities.1California Legislative Information. California Code Government 7284 – California Values Act Officers cannot use agency resources to investigate or arrest you for immigration purposes, ask about your immigration status, hold you based on an ICE detainer, or arrest you on a civil immigration warrant.2California Legislative Information. California Code Government 7284.6
Information sharing is also restricted. Agencies generally cannot give immigration authorities your release date or personal details like home or work addresses unless the information is already publicly available. Transfers to immigration custody require a judicial warrant or probable cause determination, or must fit within the narrow exceptions in Government Code section 7282.5 for people convicted of specified serious offenses. If a transfer does happen under those exceptions, the agency has to give you written notice.
SB 54 is not a complete wall. Police can still share criminal history information, work on joint task forces whose primary purpose is not immigration enforcement, and help certify crime victims for T or U visas.2California Legislative Information. California Code Government 7284.6 And federal agents can still act on their own authority in public places and at federal facilities.
Driver’s Licenses Under AB 60
Assembly Bill 60 allows you to get a California driver’s license regardless of immigration status. You have to prove your identity, show California residency, and pass the written knowledge test and the behind-the-wheel test.3California DMV. AB 60 Driver’s Licenses The card is marked “Federal Limits Apply,” so it cannot be used to board domestic flights after REAL ID enforcement or to enter certain federal buildings.
The privacy design matters. An AB 60 license looks the same as any other “Federal Limits Apply” license, including those issued to U.S. citizens who simply chose not to get a REAL ID. State law also bars the license from being used as evidence of your citizenship or immigration status for any purpose.4California Attorney General. Consumer Alert Regarding Federal Limits Apply Driver Licenses
Professional and Occupational Licenses
California licensing boards cannot deny you a professional license solely because of your immigration or citizenship status. If you meet the education, testing, and experience requirements, the board has to process your application, and you can use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number if you do not have a Social Security Number.5California Legislative Information. California Code Business and Professions Code BPC 30 This rule covers the Department of Consumer Affairs boards, the State Bar, and the Department of Real Estate.
Schools, Colleges, and Financial Aid
K-12 Public Schools
Every child in California can attend public school from kindergarten through twelfth grade regardless of immigration status, under the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Plyler v. Doe.6Justia U.S. Supreme Court. Plyler v Doe, 457 US 202 (1982) Schools cannot ask about your immigration status or your parents’ status as a condition of enrolling.
In-State Tuition Through AB 540
Education Code section 68130.5, known as AB 540, exempts eligible students from nonresident tuition at the California State University and California Community Colleges. You can meet the attendance requirement by attending a California high school for three or more years, or through any combination of California high schools, adult schools, and community colleges. Students who completed three or more years of full-time coursework in a California high school and attended California elementary or secondary schools for a combined three or more years also qualify.7California Legislative Information. California Education Code 68130.5
On top of the attendance piece, you need to have graduated from a California high school, earned a California GED, received an associate degree from a California community college, or met the minimum transfer requirements from a community college to UC or CSU.
California Dream Act Aid
If you qualify for AB 540, you can apply for state financial aid through the California Dream Act Application. This matters because undocumented students, including DACA recipients, are not eligible for federal student aid through FAFSA.8Federal Student Aid. Undocumented Students and Financial Aid The Dream Act Application gives you access to state grants, scholarships, and loans through the California Student Aid Commission.9California Student Aid Commission. Undocumented Students
Your Rights at Work
California labor laws apply to every worker in the state regardless of immigration status. Minimum wage, overtime, meal and rest breaks, and workers’ compensation all apply to you the same as anyone else. Employers who try to use your immigration status against you face several overlapping penalties.
Labor Code section 1019 makes it unlawful for an employer to retaliate against you for exercising a labor right by using immigration-related threats. That includes demanding more or different work authorization documents than federal law requires, misusing E-Verify, or threatening to report you to immigration authorities.10California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 1019 – Unfair Immigration-Related Practices A court can suspend the employer’s business licenses for up to 14 days on a first offense, 30 days on a second, and 90 days on a third.
Labor Code section 1019.2 adds a separate civil penalty of up to $10,000, recoverable by the Labor Commissioner, when an employer reverifies a current employee’s work eligibility at a time or in a manner not required by federal immigration law.11California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 1019.2
Labor Code section 244 treats a threat to report your suspected immigration status, or that of your spouse, parent, sibling, or child, as an adverse employment action when done in retaliation for exercising a legal right.12California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 244
On the federal side, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bars employers from discriminating based on national origin in hiring, firing, pay, promotions, and assignments, and bars job ads that prefer applicants from specific countries or with particular visa types. Harassment based on national origin that creates a hostile work environment is also unlawful.13U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. National Origin Discrimination
Your Rights as a Tenant
Civil Code section 1940.35 makes it illegal for a landlord to disclose your immigration or citizenship status to any immigration authority, law enforcement agency, or government entity when the disclosure is intended to harass, intimidate, or retaliate against you, or to pressure you into leaving your home. The protection applies even after you have moved out.14California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1940.35
The penalties are heavy. A court that finds a violation must order statutory damages between six and twelve times your monthly rent, issue an injunction against similar future conduct, and notify the local district attorney of a possible criminal extortion violation. At $2,000 a month in rent, that is $12,000 to $24,000 in damages alone. A landlord who complies with a federal subpoena, warrant, or court order is not in violation.
Health Care Through Medi-Cal
California has expanded Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, to cover all income-eligible adults regardless of immigration status. The adult income threshold is 138 percent of the federal poverty level.15Covered California. Program Eligibility by Federal Poverty Level for 2026 Full-scope Medi-Cal covers primary and preventive care, specialists, prescriptions, and mental health services. The expansion finished rolling out across all age groups in January 2024.
If you do not meet the income threshold or other criteria, Emergency Medi-Cal is still available and pays for emergency and pregnancy-related services regardless of immigration status.
If You Are a Crime or Trafficking Victim
Federal law offers two visa categories for immigrant crime victims. The T visa is for victims of severe trafficking who are present in the United States because of the trafficking, cooperate with reasonable law enforcement requests, and would face extreme hardship if removed. The U visa is for victims of other qualifying crimes who cooperate with law enforcement investigations.16U.S. Department of Labor. Department of Labor U and T Visa Process and Protocols Question – Answer SB 54 specifically allows California police to make the inquiries needed to certify people for T or U visas, so local officers can help you with the certification step even under the sanctuary rules.
Where To Report a Violation
For workplace retaliation or immigration-related threats from an employer, file a complaint with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office. The office has stated it will not ask about your immigration status or report it to other agencies, and you do not need a Social Security Number or photo ID to file.17California Department of Industrial Relations. How To File a Retaliation/Discrimination Complaint
For housing violations, file with the California Civil Rights Department (formerly the Department of Fair Employment and Housing). For national-origin discrimination at work, the EEOC handles federal claims; the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division handles citizenship and immigration status discrimination under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Many counties have legal aid organizations offering free or low-cost immigration help, which can be especially useful since private immigration attorneys typically charge $150 to $700 per hour depending on complexity and location.