SACRAMENTO, CA - On Tuesday, May 30, the California State Assembly voted to pass AB 1306 (Carrillo), the HOME Act (Harmonizing Our Measures for Equality) through the Assembly floor, sending the bill to the Senate with a strong majority 54 vote count. AB 1306 would restrict the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) from transferring individuals leaving incarceration after achieving parole to Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) if they have also benefited from recent resentencing and compassionate release reforms. The bill enjoys support from a broad coalition of advocates, legislators, has no opposition and provides a straightforward solution to align state policy with existing criminal justice reforms that are already law.
“It was never the intent of the legislature to pass restorative justice policies that exclude immigrants and create a dual system of justice that double punishes individuals who have earned parole,” said Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo. “In recent years the Legislature has recognized that over incarceration hurts our state and our communities. The legislature has also recognized that people of color have been disproportionately impacted by “tough on crime” policies and has done the work to pass policies that rectify those laws, including policies for individuals whose convictions were tainted by racial bias, for minors sentenced as adults who can now earn parole, compassionate release for those gravely ill, and has reformed the felony murder rule which unjustly convicted individuals based on association. This is a step in the right direction for California and ensuring there is one system of justice that treats immigrants as equals.”
AB 1306 falls in line with broadly established and supported state initiatives reducing mass incarceration and addressing racism in our justice system. Despite these reforms, California’s state prison system continues to transfer immigrant community members who earn release under these reforms to ICE for detention and deportation, a cruel extension of punishment that devastates families and communities. The HOME Act would create parity for all Californians who earn release under these reforms.
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Assemblywoman Carrillo was elected to serve in the State Assembly in December 2017. She represents the 52nd Assembly District, which includes East Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles and South Glendale. She serves as the Chair of the Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration, in addition to the Assembly Committees on Appropriations, Health, Housing and Community Development, Utilities and Energy, Budget Subcommittee No. 6 on Budget Process, Oversight and Program Evaluation, and the Joint Committees on Legislative Budget, and Climate Change Policies. She also serves as the Chair of the Select Committee on Latina Inequities, Vice Chair of the Legislative Progressive Caucus, as a Commissioner for the California Film Commission and serves on the California Cultural and Historical Endowment Board.