Sacramento considering a ban of immigration enforcement on city-owned properties
Sacramento council members will reaffirm the city’s support for immigrants next week as discussions continue around a stronger measure to restrict federal immigration officers from using municipal properties.
The resolution, scheduled for a vote at Tuesday’s council meeting, is largely symbolic and deemed an update to Sacramento’s immigration platform given the increased enforcement under President Donald Trump. The measure follows months of criticism from community activists saying the city has not sufficiently supported protesters’ free speech rights or pushed back against federal immigration operations.
Sacramento, which has touted its history of supporting immigrants, was one of the first jurisdictions in the nation to adopt a sanctuary city policy, doing so in 1985.
Tuesday’s resolution will align the city with recent state law changes and court decisions, including support of policies limiting the use of masks by law enforcement officers.
A separate proposal, which council members say is still being drafted, would take a tougher stance against the federal government. The policy would ban federal immigration officers from using city-owned properties for enforcement operations.
“We have an obligation to all of our taxpayers to make sure that our municipal services are available for them, and they cannot be consumed and diverted by the federal government for their issues,” said Councilmember Eric Guerra on Thursday.
Guerra, who has worked on the draft with Councilmembers Karina Talamantes and Mai Vang, said he hopes the measure will be heard at the Law and Legislation Committee’s Feb. 10 meeting. If passed, it would move to a full City Council vote.
Talamantes said the city’s proposal will be similar to ones introduced across the country. Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose have proposed or approved bans of federal immigration officers on municipal properties in the last few months.
“It sends a clear message: we in the city of Sacramento do not work with federal immigration officers that are currently abusing the law they were sworn to protect,” Talamantes said in a written statement. “Those actions are not welcomed in our city.”
The resolution and proposed policy follow months of protests against immigration enforcement outside John E. Moss Federal Building on Capitol Mall.
Protesters have repeatedly asked city leaders to intervene, alleging unlawful actions by federal agents and local law enforcement.
“We just really haven’t heard a lot lately from anyone in the city government about what’s next here, and that’s disappointing,” said Autumn Gonzalez, an organizer with the group NorCal Resist, on Wednesday. “It doesn’t feel like it’s being moved on with any sense of urgency.”
NorCal Resist, one of the region’s leading organizations monitoring immigration enforcement, was one of more than a dozen groups that signed a letter to the City Council in November after some protesters were cited by police during a demonstration at the federal building.
The letter states that on Nov. 5 protesters were “violently attacked and arrested” by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and cited for “frivolous infractions” by the Sacramento Police Department.
“Sacramento PD assisted federal agents in penalizing residents for exercising First Amendment rights,” stated the letter. “As Sacramentans, we cannot stand by and let this continue.”
The written document called on the city to update its sanctuary city policy and “protect the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors.”
In 1985, Sacramento became one of the first American cities to adopt a sanctuary designation, which generally describes places that limit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration. The City Council voted to strengthen the measure in 2017 by making it punishable by fines.
Among the demands outlined in the November letter are that the city define the area surrounding the federal building as a free speech zone, prohibit the use of city-owned parking lots, garages and sidewalks for enforcement purposes and provide free signage to private landowners who wish to restrict enforcement.
The letter also requests that the city ban the masking of all law enforcement officials conducting immigration operations. California passed similar legislation last year.
“They have other tools at their disposal, and they should get creative with them,” Gonzalez said. “Now is the time to get your lawyers to sit down and think of every creative way that we can push back against this horrible abuse of people’s human rights.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2026 at 4:00 PM.
