Preventing Individuals Employed by ICE from Becoming Peace Officers in California
Assemblymember Anamarie Ávila Farías authored AB 1627, the Misconduct Ends Law-Enforcement Trust Act of 2026 (MELT ICE Act), as a direct response to the ongoing immigration actions of the current federal administration. This bill would ensure that federal immigration enforcement personnel are disqualified from becoming a peace officer in California if they have committed misconduct in their prior role.
ICE agents have continued to terrorize California through arrests and brutality based on factors such as a person’s appearance, language, employment, and more. Across California, there have been widespread reports of excessive force, intimidation, and unlawful arrests. Many individuals have been detained without charges or due process, languishing in poorly equipped ICE detention centers as they struggle through the legal system. These practices have undermined fundamental protections guaranteed by the Constitution and have inflicted lasting harm on families and communities.
In 2025, thirty-two people died in ICE custody, the agency’s deadliest year in more than two decades.
“California’s peace officers and teachers must be guardians of constitutional rights, not participants in their erosion. Public service requires integrity, restraint, and respect for due process. When those values are abandoned, public trust is broken, and communities are put at risk.”
AB 1627 makes it clear that masked thugs—willing to break the law, deport citizens, murder innocents, and arrest residents without due process are unfit to protect anyone in California.
