Berkeley, CA Immigration Policy: Sanctuary Policy Preemption (2026)

Section 13.114.030 spells out what city staff cannot do. City Agency or Personnel may not use City Resources to assist any Immigration Authority with Immigration Enforcement, deny city services based on Citizenship or Immigration Status, or perform any of eight listed acts: helping with an investigation, detention or arrest; interrogating or transferring a detainee; asking about a person's immigration status, country of origin or place of birth, except where required for a city service or city employment verification; disclosing Protected Personal Information to immigration authorities without a valid judicial warrant or subpoena; complying with a civil immigration detainer request; making people in city custody available for ICE interviews; acting as a deputized immigration officer under 8 U.S.C.

Section 1357(g); or consenting to a search of non-public city property or records absent a judicial warrant. Staff must instead refer people asking about their own status to a listed nonprofit immigration law organization under Section 13.114.020(D). Section 13.114.040 requires every city agency to document, in writing, any request for information it makes to or receives from an immigration authority, keep the record for two years, and report it to the City Council as an Information Item within ten business days; the Police Department must also publish an annual aggregated summary.

Section 13.114.050 carves out narrow exceptions: individual consent, disclosures necessary to provide a city service, and anything required by state or federal law, including 8 U.S.C. Section 1373. The chapter applies only to a 'City Agency,' defined in Section 13.114.020(C), so it does not reach the University of California, Berkeley police department, a state entity outside city control.