Sheriff Jim McDonnell discusses bill that could limit contact between law enforcement, ICE

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell discussed the possible repercussions of a proposed bill that would stifle interactions between local law enforcement and federal agencies regarding criminals who may not be citizens.

Critics of Senate Bill 54, or the Values Act, believe it would help protect criminals rather than families and communities.

Current state law requires law enforcement agencies to notify ICE and other federal agencies about people who are arrested for certain crimes and may not be a citizen. SB 54 would repeal those provisions.

McDonnell said if the bill were to pass it would devalue what has been working with agencies in the state.

"The way we operate is with guidance from two state laws - the Trust Act and the Truth Act - they delineate which criminals get turned over to ICE," he said.

The new bill would limit the ability to communicate with federal agencies about people who are in custody or even provide information on those who have been arrested, McDonnell said.

"It puts us in a bad position on being able to communicate with our federal partners on sex trafficking, drug trafficking, gang activity - the potential there is to make our communities less safe," he said.

He added that ICE will continue to do their job, but instead of dealing with local agencies and the jail systems, they could end up going into the communities.

McDonnell said the bill should be further examined.

To learn more about the bill, go to leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.