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State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, D-Panorama City, worries that when a new administration takes the White House in 2028, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers hired during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown might try to “jump ship” to local law enforcement.
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The officers Menjivar has in mind entered federal immigration enforcement during an extraordinary hiring push. The Trump administration offered substantial signing bonuses and accelerated the process of putting new officers in the field, as ICE faced growing scrutiny over its expanded enforcement policies and use of force.
“There’s limited things I can do as a state legislator to legislate federal agents. At minimum, can I prevent them from switching over?” Menjivar said. “Because once the Trump administration is over, I think they’re going to run out of the freedom they have to harass people like they are now.”
Menjivar introduced SB 938 to ensure immigration agents can’t use their federal service to bypass California’s basic training requirements if they decide to make that switch.
Normally, someone seeking to become a California police officer must complete the state’s Regular Basic Course, the police academy curriculum established by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST. But experienced law enforcement officers who received comparable training elsewhere .
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Her bill would clarify that federal service primarily involving immigration inspection, border enforcement or the apprehension, detention or removal of noncitizens is not sufficient to qualify for the waiver.
However, POST reported that because ICE basic training is usually specialized and ICE officers’ daily duties do not count as “general law enforcement” as the application requires, they already wouldn’t qualify.
Menjivar said that she has heard of cases of ICE officers using the waivers to become police officers, even if it isn’t a regular practice. Her office did not provide examples despite repeated requests.
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The bill is waiting for a vote on the Assembly floor.