California Kills Bill That Would Strip Fentanyl-Dealing Illegal Immigrants of Sanctuary State Protections

Heroin and fentanyl pressed into pill form. Courtesy of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

State Democrats on Tuesday voted down legislation that would have amended California’s sanctuary law to allow the deportation of fentanyl-dealing illegal immigrants.

The proposed bill, dubbed AB2209, was introduced by assemblywoman Kate Sanchez, a Republican, in February. It aimed to deny sanctuary state protections to illegal immigrants convicted of fentanyl charges.

Ms. Sanchez told the state assembly on Tuesday that the legislation was not “anti-immigrant” but rather “anti-fentanyl,” with a focus on tackling the fentanyl crisis in the state.

“This bill is simply a referendum on the sanctuary state policy as it relates to fentanyl dealers,” the assembly member remarked.

“I don’t believe current law is working and I believe we need to give law enforcement more tools to protect our California communities. AB2209 is a choice. It’s a choice between fixing our fentanyl crisis or doing nothing,” she added.

California’s current law prohibits law enforcement agencies from investigating, interrogating, detecting, or arresting people for immigration enforcement purposes.

There are limited exceptions to this prohibition, including transfers of persons pursuant to a judicial warrant and providing certain information to federal authorities on serious and violent felons in custody.

The proposed bill would “additionally except, for purposes of the act, any California law enforcement agency performing any responsibilities under the scope of its jurisdiction regarding any person who is alleged to have violated, or who has been previously convicted of violating, specified provisions relating to fentanyl.”

Ms. Sanchez announced on social media platform X that California Democrats voted down the bill.

“CA Dems just killed my bill to strip felony fentanyl dealers of sanctuary state protections. How can we crack down on criminal cartel drug dealers if Sacramento gives them tools to evade deportation?” she asked.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin, which is a significant contributor to drug overdoses in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated.

Due to its potency, even small amounts of the drug can cause an overdose. More than 150 Americans die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl, according to data released by the CDC.

According to the California Overdose Surveillance Dashboard, there were 7,385 opioid-related deaths in California in 2022, of which 6,473 were fentanyl-related.

San Francisco is one of the communities most acutely affected by drug overdoses, with 813 fatalities in 2023, of which 657 were attributed to fentanyl, according to data released by the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a Feb. 27 statement that state authorities seized enough lethal doses of fentanyl last year to kill the entire global population “nearly twice over.”

Officials seized gallon-sized plastic bags filled with fentanyl pills and powder while executing a search warrant in Multnomah County, Oregon, on July 25, 2023. Courtesy of Multnomah County Sheriff's Office

The governor, a Democrat, said that operations supported by the state’s National Guard, or CalGuard, led to the seizure of a record 62,224 pounds of fentanyl in the state and at ports of entry in 2023, marking a 1,066 percent increase since 2021.

The street price for the intercepted fentanyl would be about $670 million, according to calculations using the Los Angeles High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area price sheet for that year.

“Fentanyl is a poison, and it does not belong in our communities,” the governor said.

“California is cracking down, increasing seizures, expanding access to substance abuse treatment, and holding drug traffickers accountable to combat the immeasurable harm opioids have caused our communities,” he added.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a potentially lethal dose, and one kilogram of the drug has the potential to kill 500,000 people.

Lorenz Duchamps contributed to this report.