Gov. Jerry Brown vetoes immigrant jury bill



Gov. Jerry Brown signs a bill that will allow undocumented immigrants receive driver's licenses. Photo by Grace Lim.

Gov. Jerry Brown signs a bill that will allow undocumented immigrants receive driver’s licenses. Photo by Grace Lim.

Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill on Monday that would allow legal immigrants who are not citizens to serve on juries, saying that such a privilege, like voting, should be reserved for citizens.

Immigrant rights advocates such as Nora Phillips, an immigration attorney at the Central American Resource Center, and Jorge-Marco Cabrera, from CHIRLA, argue that the passing of this bill would have helped incarcerated immigrants because they would have been tried by a jury of their peers.

To hear more from Phillips and Cabrera about the veto’s implications, listen to this audio story from Annenberg Radio News:

Despite their concern over the jury bill, Phillips and Cabrera commended Governor Brown for passing other bills that, they say, are making California friendlier to immigrants.

In the last few days, Brown signed bills that provide immigrants with driver’s permits and the ability to practice law in the state, regardless of legal status. He also signed the Trust Act, which means local law enforcement cannot detain undocumented immigrants longer than necessary for minor offenses as they wait for federal immigration services to arrive.

These steps, say Phillips and Cabrera, could foreshadow what is to come for the rest of the nation.

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