Huntington Park Municipal Code Art. 1 Cooperation

The City of Huntington Park has long embraced and welcomed individuals of diverse racial, ethnic, religious, and national backgrounds, including a large immigrant population. The City has long derived its strength and prosperity from its diverse community, and welcomes, honors, and respects the contributions of all its residents, regardless of their immigration status. The City is home to immigrants and their families, and it is here where they form and maintain bonds of family, friendship, and love. Immigrants and their families in the City contribute to the economic and social fabric of the City by establishing and patronizing businesses, participating in the arts and culture, and achieving significant educational accomplishments.

Through the City's commitment to the equal, respectful, and dignified treatment of all people, one of the City's most important objectives is to enhance its relationship with all its residents, including immigrants. The cooperation of the City's immigrant community members is essential to advancing the City's mission, vision, and guiding principles, including community safety, support for youth and education, economic development, and financial stability. The City is safest when all people feel they can participate in civic and public life. Fostering a relationship of trust, respect, and open communication between City officials and residents is essential to the City's mission of delivering efficient public services in partnership with our community, which ensures a prosperous economic environment, opportunities for youth, and a high quality of life for all residents. Accordingly, the City seeks to continue to foster trust between City officials and residents; to encourage cooperation between residents and City officials; and to ensure public safety and due process for all.

In 2018, the California Values Act (SB 54) went into effect. SB 54 prevents state and local law enforcement resources from being commandeered by the Federal government and diverted to tear families apart and violate due process rights. In that spirit, the City also refuses to use limited City resources to assist with the detention and deportation of mothers and fathers, children, neighbors, co-workers, and friends — except as required by State and Federal law. Instead, the City chooses to stand with our immigrant community members.

Due to the City's limited resources, the complexity of Federal civil immigration laws, the need to promote trust and cooperation from the public, including immigrants, and to attain the City's objectives, the City Council finds that there is a need to clarify the communication and enforcement relationship between the City and the Federal government. The purpose of this chapter is to establish the City's procedures concerning sensitive information and enforcement of Federal immigration laws. This chapter establishes safeguards and procedures, to the extent permissible by law, to prohibit any City resources, including property and personnel, from being utilized for any Federal immigration enforcement. Further, to the extent permissible by law, the City will not enter into new, amended, or extended contracts or agreements with any person or entity that provides immigration authorities with any data broker, data-mining, or extreme vetting services connected to Federal immigration enforcement, unless a waiver is granted.

(Ord. 2025-06, 8/4/2025, eff. 7/7/2025)

The following definitions shall apply to this chapter:

"Awarding Authority"

means a subordinate or component entity or person of the City, such as a City department or board of commissioners, that has the authority to enter into a contract or agreement for the provision of goods or services on behalf of the City.

"City"

means the City of Huntington Park, agency, department, officer, employee, agent, or any awarding authority.

"City Resources"

means City monies, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel.

"Commission"

means the Human Relations Commission.

"Company"

means any person, firm, corporation, partnership, or combination thereof.

"Contract"

means any agreement, franchise, lease, or concession, including agreements for any occasional professional or technical personal services, for the performance of any work or service, the provision of any materials or supplies, or the rendition of any service to the City or to the public, which is let, awarded, or entered into with, or on behalf of, the City or any awarding authority thereof.

"Database"

means any set of records of any sort, electronic or otherwise, that can be queried to retrieve records matching certain criteria and that contain any protected personal information. This includes, but is not limited to, any database that stores automated license plate reader data, data about any encounters with law enforcement entities and agencies, biometric information, business licenses, or utility service data.

"Data Broker"

means either of the following:

(a)

An entity that collects information, including personal information about consumers, from a variety of sources for the purposes of aggregating, sharing, or reselling such information to its customers, which include both private-sector businesses and government agencies; or

(b)

The aggregation of data that was collected for another purpose from that for which it is ultimately used.

"Designated Administrative Agency" or "DAA"

means [ ] Department, which shall bear administrative responsibilities under this chapter.

"Extreme Vetting"

means data-mining, data-linking technology, threat modeling, predictive risk analysis, and other similar services.

"Immigration Authorities"

means any person employed by the Department of Homeland Security, which includes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, any other Federal agency or department tasked with enforcing Federal immigration law, or persons or entities contracted for immigration enforcement purposes.

"Immigration Enforcement Action"

means any investigation, search, inquiry, or action undertaken to enforce Federal immigration law, whether civil or criminal, regarding a person's entry or reentry, presence, or employment in the United States on the basis of immigration or citizenship status.

"Sensitive Information"

means any information that identifies, relates to, describes, or is capable of being associated with a particular individual and is protected from disclosure by the City in accordance with this chapter, including, but not limited to:

(a)

Name;

(b)

Signature;

(c)

Physical characteristics, descriptions, or biometrics, such as facial characteristics, irises, fingerprints, voice, and DNA;

(d)

Residential, business, or other addresses;

(e)

Education or employment histories;

(f)

Telephone numbers;

(g)

Date of birth;

(h)

Place of birth;

(i)

Religion;

(j)

Sex;

(k)

Gender;

(l)

Gender identity;

(m)

Sexual orientation;

(n)

Marital status;

(o)

Age;

(p)

Citizenship or immigration status;

(q)

Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification number;

(r)

Passport number;

(s)

Driver's license or State identification card number;

(t)

Employers, employers' address, or employment information;

(u)

House of worship address;

(v)

Insurance policy numbers;

(w)

Status as a victim of or witness to a crime;

(x)

Known or suspected political or organizational affiliations;

(y)

Status as a recipient of government benefits;

(z)

Health or disability information;

(aa)

Income;

(bb)

Assets;

(cc)

Debts; and

(dd)

Bank account numbers, credit card numbers, debit card numbers, or any other financial information.

(Ord. 2025-06, 8/4/2025, eff. 7/7/2025)

(a) The City shall not request, inquire, or collect or information about sensitive information about any person, except as provided in § 2-12.03(e) below.

(b) The City shall not disclose sensitive information to immigration authorities in the furtherance of any immigration enforcement action, except as provided in § 2-12.03(e) below.

(c) All City departments, agencies, or commissions shall review their confidentiality policies annually and identify and implement any changes necessary to prevent the disclosure of sensitive information in the furtherance of any immigration enforcement action, except as provided in § 2-12.03(e) below.

(d) Vendors collecting information on behalf of the City shall report annually on their data sharing policies and enumerate how the use of its data is limited to the provision of City duties or services and is not used or disclosed for any other purpose, except as provided in subsection (e) below.

(e) This section shall not be applicable upon the following:

(1) The written consent of an individual to whom sensitive information pertains (or if such individual is a minor, the consent of that person's parent or legal guardian);

(2) The information or disclosure is necessary to provide a City service, for election-related purposes or appointment to a City office or commission, or as required for purposes of City employment or the disbursement of City funds;

(3) The information or disclosure is required by any applicable State or Federal law, including 8 U.S.C. § 1373, or judicial decision.

(Ord. 2025-06, 8/4/2025, eff. 7/7/2025)

(a) Unless pursuant to a judicial warrant or judicial probable cause determination, or as otherwise required by Federal or State law, no City resources shall be used to assist in any immigration enforcement action. Nothing in this section shall prevent the City, including any agency, department, officer, employee, or agent of the City, from lawfully discharging their duties in compliance with and in response to a lawfully issued judicial warrant or judicial subpoena, or other order evidencing a judicial determination of probable cause.

(b) The prohibition set forth in this section shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) Identifying, investigating, interrogating, detaining, citing, arresting, holding, transferring, or refusing to release individuals in City custody for the purpose of immigration enforcement action;

(2) Responding to any administrative warrant or request by immigration authorities to detain, transfer, notify, or otherwise facilitate the arrest of any individual in City custody for the purpose of immigration enforcement action;

(3) Providing immigration authorities access to any non-public areas, including jails or police department property, without a valid search or arrest warrant issued by a Federal court of competent jurisdiction;

(4) Making individuals in City custody available to immigration authorities for interviews for the purpose of immigration enforcement action;

(5) Participating in any operation or joint operation or patrol that involves, in whole or in part, an immigration enforcement action;

(6) Providing access to any City databases in the possession of the City in connection with an immigration enforcement action, except as required by State or Federal law, including 8 U.S.C. § 1373, or judicial decision.

(c) The DAA shall establish rules and regulations, as approved by the City Council, for City employees for the reporting of information that the employee reasonably believes is evidence of a violation of this chapter.

(Ord. 2025-06, 8/4/2025, eff. 7/7/2025)

(a) The DAA shall review compliance with this chapter. The DAA may initiate and shall receive complaints regarding violations of this chapter. All officers, employees, departments, boards, commissions, and any company under contract with the City shall cooperate with the DAA in any investigation of a violation.

(b) By March 31 of each year, the DAA shall schedule and submit to the City Council a written public report regarding compliance with this chapter over the previous year. At minimum, this report must include the following:

(1) Detail with specificity the steps taken to ensure compliance with this chapter;

(2) Disclosure of any issues with compliance, including any violations or potential violations of this chapter; and

(3) Detailed actions taken to cure any deficiencies arising from compliance with this chapter.

(Ord. 2025-06, 8/4/2025, eff. 7/7/2025)

(a) An individual aggrieved under this chapter may institute civil proceedings as provided by law against the City or any company under contract with the City for violating any of the provisions of this chapter, provided that such aggrieved individual has first provided written notice to the DAA by serving the City Clerk, regarding the specific alleged violations of this chapter, and provided the City or company with an opportunity to cure. If a specific alleged violation is not remedied within the ninety-day cure period after receipt of written notice, an aggrieved individual may institute civil proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction. The foregoing shall not apply to proceedings for injunctive relief or writ of mandate, which may be initiated at any time to the extent permissible by law.

(b) An individual prevailing in court under this chapter may be awarded compensatory damages and the imposition of civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation, as adjudged by the court. In determining the amount of civil penalty, the court shall consider prior violations of this chapter by the violator, and each disclosure of an individual's sensitive information or participation in each immigration enforcement action shall be a separate violation.

(c) A court may award a plaintiff who prevails on a cause of action under subsection (a) of this section reasonable attorney's fees and costs.

(d) Any person or entity bringing an action against the City under this section must first file a claim with the City under Government Code Section 905, or any successor statute, within three years of the alleged violation or the effective date of this chapter, whichever is later.

(Ord. 2025-06, 8/4/2025, eff. 7/7/2025)

(a) The City shall document in writing all requests for assistance from immigration authorities, including but not limited to requests for immigration detainers, transfers, interviews, interrogations, notifications, or non-publicly available information about any individual. The documented requests shall include the date, name of the requesting party, title, agency, nature of the information or assistance sought, the legal basis asserted for the request, and the response to the request.

(b) All City boards, agencies, commissions, departments, and offices shall provide semi-annual written reports to the DAA aggregating the information collected in subsection (a). These reports shall be submitted every six months. These reports shall exclude all personal identifiers and shall also be considered public records within the meaning of the California Public Records Act and shall be publicly disclosed and made available online.

(c) The DAA will be responsible for aggregating the information contained in the semi-annual written reports from all City boards, agencies, commissions, departments, and offices and publishing the information online. The DAA will compile this aggregated information into a monitoring report every six months, and the information will be published online in a format that is accessible to all members of the public and will be updated promptly online upon the receipt of each new semi-annual report from a City board, agency, commission, department, or office.

(Ord. 2025-06, 8/4/2025, eff. 7/7/2025)

Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any requirement, power, or duty in conflict with Federal or State law.

(Ord. 2025-06, 8/4/2025, eff. 7/7/2025)

If any portion, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this chapter is for any reason held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such a decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this chapter and each portion or subsection, sentence, clause, and phrase herein, irrespective of the fact that any one or more portions, subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional.

(Ord. 2025-06, 8/4/2025, eff. 7/7/2025)

In light of the findings that in order to preserve limited City resources for local needs, to maintain public trust and public access to essential City benefits and services, to promote the dignity and stability of all City communities, and in order to protect the public peace and safety, it is necessary that the amendments to the City of Huntington Park Municipal Code as reflected in this chapter become effective immediately upon passage. For all these reasons, this chapter shall become effective upon July 7, 2025.

(Ord. 2025-06, 8/4/2025, eff. 7/7/2025)