Lawsuits against ICE agents would be allowed under proposed California law
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SACRAMENTO — A week after a Minnesota woman was fatally shot by a federal immigration officer, California legislators moved forward a bill that would make it easier for people to sue federal agents if they believe their constitutional rights were violated.A Senate committee passed Senate Bill 747 by Sen.Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), which would provide Californians with a stronger ability to take legal action against federal law enforcement agents over excessive use of force, unlawful home searches, interfering with a right to protest and other violations.California law already allows such suits against state and local law enforcement officials.
Successful civil suits against federal officers over constitutional rights are less common.Wiener, appearing before Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, said his bill has taken on new urgency in the wake of the death of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota, the 37-year-old mother of three who was shot while driving on a snowy Minneapolis street.Good was shot by an agent in self-defense, said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who alleged that Good tried to use her car as a weapon to run over the immigration officer.
California Federal officials say an off-duty ICE agent was responding to an ‘active shooter’ at his Northridge apartment complex when he gunned down Keith Porter Jr.Friends and advocates contend that Porter was not threatening anyone, but shooting a gun in the air to celebrate on New Year’s Eve.Good’s death outraged Democratic leaders across the country, who accuse federal officers of flouting laws in their efforts to deport thousands of undocumented immigrants.
In New York, legislators are proposing legislation similar to the one proposed by Wiener that would allow state-level civil actions against federal officers.George Retes Jr., a U.S.citizen and Army veteran who was kept in fe...