Pasadena Senator Defends SB 805 Amid Trump Administration Lawsuit

State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, who represents Pasadena and surrounding communities, issued a statement Tuesday defending SB 805, the No Vigilantes Act, in response to what she described as a lawsuit by the Trump Administration challenging the law’s constitutionality.

Pérez, a Democrat and chair of the Senate Education Committee, authored SB 805 to require law enforcement officers operating in California to display identification and to prohibit bounty hunters from engaging in immigration enforcement. In a press release issued by her office, Pérez said the law was designed to curb impersonations of law enforcement and protect vulnerable communities from vigilante actions.

“As the author of SB 805, the No Vigilantes Act, California took aggressive action to counter the chaos and confusion being unleashed on our streets by the Trump Administration’s cruel and fascist immigration enforcement,” Pérez said in the statement. “Nameless, faceless and aggressive agents acting as law enforcement led to a rise in cases of people impersonating police in order to prey on innocent and vulnerable people.”

She added that “California, under its policing powers, has the legal authority to establish identification requirements for law enforcement operating within the state, as mandated under SB 805.” Pérez said this authority is especially important “at this moment when there is an urgent and compelling public interest in distinguishing between individuals exercising actual law enforcement authority and vigilantes or criminals.”

Pérez also cited a recent FBI directive urging Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to clearly identify themselves, describing it as further validation of SB 805’s provisions.

The lawsuit, according to Pérez, challenges the state’s authority to regulate law enforcement identification standards. Her office did not indicate whether the state plans to contest the suit in court.

SB 805 was passed earlier this year and applies statewide. In addition to Pasadena, Pérez represents California’s 25th Senate District, which includes Altadena, South Pasadena, Glendale, Alhambra, Arcadia, Claremont, Glendora, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta-Montrose, Monrovia, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, Sierra Madre, Temple City, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, and San Antonio Heights.