Santa Ana considers ban on police moonlighting for ICE

Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua and several council members are pushing for a local ordinance to bar city police officers from taking off-duty work with federal immigration agencies, Voice of OC reported Tuesday.

The proposal, slated for a Wednesday council meeting, targets a gap in California's sanctuary law, SB 54, that prohibits local agencies from assisting immigration enforcement but does not restrict officers from moonlighting with ICE — a loophole officials say is eroding trust in Orange County's large immigrant communities.

Mayor Amezcua and Councilman Phil Bacerra said in a joint memo that maintaining clear separation between local police and federal immigration agents is "critical to ensuring that all residents feel safe reporting crimes, accessing services, and engaging with public safety personnel," according to Voice of OC. The council is scheduled to take up the proposal Wednesday.

Councilmembers Johnathan Hernandez and Ben Vazquez, in a separate memo, said the loophole enables officers to circumvent the law's intent. "This gap has allowed officers to work secondary or part-time employment directly for ICE, DHS, or private contractors involved in immigration enforcement — effectively circumventing the intent of SB 54 and other sanctuary protections," they said, according to Voice of OC.

The two councilmembers also cited the scale of the federal enforcement push as a reason for urgency. "The federal administration has committed $75 billion in taxpayer dollars toward an agenda of mass deportation, including active, well-funded recruitment efforts and advertising specifically targeting local law enforcement officers in California," Hernandez and Vazquez said. "When residents cannot distinguish between local police acting in their official capacity and those same officers working for ICE on the side, community trust is shattered," they added.

The council also called for city backing of AB 1537, dubbed the "No Side Jobs for ICE Act," which would impose a statewide ban on officers working with ICE, Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security, Voice of OC reported.

John Kachirisky, president of the Santa Ana Police Officers Association, noted that the union already prohibits members from holding jobs at other law enforcement agencies. "The Santa Ana Police Officers Association does not participate in the hiring process for any potential employees of the Santa Ana Police Department. Members are prohibited from holding employment at any other law enforcement agency," Kachirisky said. The city hired 86 police officers between 2023 and 2025; none came from the Department of Homeland Security, according to Voice of OC.

Santa Ana's conflict with federal immigration enforcement came to a head last June, when protests over ICE operations prompted officers to fire more than 300 less-lethal rounds over four days — a response that cost the city nearly $400,000, according to Voice of OC.