Immigration and Local Law Enforcement

San Luis Obispo is made up of diverse individuals, both native born and immigrants, whose collective cultures, religions, backgrounds, orientations, abilities and viewpoints join to form a community that welcomes all walks of life.

The City is committed to providing services to the community equitably, fairly and without discrimination toward any individual or group. It is the policy of the City of San Luis Obispo to treat all individuals equitably, with dignity and respect.

Our priority is the safety and well-being of the people in our community, regardless of immigration status. The City government abides by all state and federal laws and does not interfere with the work of any federal agency. We work every day to protect our community and safeguard community trust in our local government.

Please visit the City of San Luis Obispo’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for more information: https://www.slocity.org/government/department-directory/city-administration/office-of-dei

Law Enforcement

The San Luis Obispo Police Department is committed to providing law enforcement services to all community members.

The department enforces the law equally, fairly and without discrimination and strictly adheres to a trio of state laws – the TRUST Act (AB 4), the TRUTH Act (AB 2792) and the California Values Act (SB 54) – regarding clarification of individual rights and limitations on the use of state or local resources for immigration enforcement.

The City has also adopted a Resolution communicating the City’s support of all of its community members and specifically limiting the use of City resources for federal immigration operations.

With that in mind, the San Luis Obispo Police Department will not:

• Conduct immigration checkpoints.
• Directly enforce federal civil immigration laws.
• Use city monies, resources, or personnel to investigate, question, detect, or apprehend persons solely for federal immigration violations, unless required by state or federal law.
• Ask individuals their immigration status in the United States whether they are contacted as victims, witnesses or suspects.
• Report immigration information to federal officials or participate in law enforcement activities with federal immigration agencies unless necessary to maintain safety in the City or to comply with federal law.

The San Luis Obispo Police Department will:

• Respond to any community member's complaint of a disturbance of any kind.
• Respond to maintain peace and order.
• Attempt to verify the lawful activities of another purporting to be a police officer or federal agent.
• Provide information and support for any community member feeling threatened or intimidated by another person’s actions.

Please note, the above information refers to jurisdictions within the San Luis Obispo City limits. For jurisdictions outside of the City limits, please refer to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office. For additional immigration resources from the County of San Luis Obispo, please visit Immigration Resources: Know Your Rights.

For specific resources including legal aid and “know your rights” materials, please visit www.sloundocusupport.org/immigrantservicesguide.