California’s sanctuary policies are at the center of a court fight after AG Rob Bonta warned that welfare checks based on federal immigration information could violate SB 54. El Cajon officials say federal authorities flagged 52 unaccompanied minors in the city and have sued to allow local officers to perform welfare checks without risking state-law violations. The case raises tensions between child-welfare concerns, immigrant-rights protections and the duties of local law enforcement.
California Sanctuary Policy Sparks Lawsuit Over Welfare Checks for Unaccompanied Migrant Children
California's sanctuary state policies have come under legal scrutiny by one Southern California town that says it has unaccompanied minors needing to be checked on, but law enforcement's hands are tied due to state-level policies preventing them from making the welfare checks. In this photo, migrant children can be seen trying to get across the border (left), next to an image of California Attorney General Rob Bonta (right).(Getty Images)
California Democrats and state authorities are facing criticism after Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office warned that local police carrying out welfare checks on unaccompanied migrant children using information from federal agencies could violate state sanctuary law SB 54 (the California Values Act). That guidance has become central to a legal challenge brought by the City of El Cajon, which says the policy forces local officers to choose between complying with state law and protecting vulnerable children.
What Happened
El Cajon officials, including Mayor Bill Wells and Councilman Steve Goble, say federal Homeland Security officials provided a list identifying unaccompanied minors and reported that 52 of those children had addresses in El Cajon. Federal officials requested help from local police to "ensure these kids are safe," and Goble sought legal guidance from the attorney general’s office before dispatching officers.
"All I care about is, is the kid safe? I don’t care the immigration status or citizen status of anybody else in the room," Councilman Steve Goble told Fox News Digital.
Letters, Legal Warnings and Lawsuit
In March 2025, Goble wrote to AG Bonta requesting clarity on whether local police could conduct welfare checks using contact information provided by federal authorities. In June 2025, Bonta’s office replied that wellness checks "alongside or based on information provided by federal immigration authorities" could implicate conduct prohibited by SB 54 — for example, confirming locations supplied by ICE or reporting the results back to federal immigration officials.
El Cajon filed suit against the state and AG Bonta on April 28, 2026, seeking relief from SB 54 and related laws such as the TRUST Act and the TRUTH Act. In a May 20 motion for a preliminary injunction, the city asked the court to temporarily block enforcement of those laws against local officers, arguing that sanctuary restrictions preempt federal immigration law and hamper public-safety duties like welfare checks.
"Every time an El Cajon police officer steps out onto the street, they’re going to be breaking one of two laws. They’re either going to be breaking federal law or they’re going to be breaking state law," Mayor Bill Wells said.
State, County and Advocacy Perspectives
Bonta’s office said it shares concerns about children at risk but suggested that county social-service agencies could play a role when no criminal conduct is involved. El Cajon officials counter that San Diego County voted in December 2024 to limit county resources from assisting federal immigration enforcement, making county agencies an impractical fallback.
Immigrant-rights advocates warn that ICE "welfare checks" can operate as immigration enforcement in disguise, deterring sponsors from coming forward and exposing families to immigration risk. The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights and other groups have criticized such visits for harming trust and child welfare.
El Cajon leaders insist their intent is purely humanitarian: to confirm whether children identified by federal authorities are safe without acting as immigration agents or reporting immigration violations discovered during a visit.
What’s Next
The lawsuit seeks a court declaration that California’s sanctuary restrictions are invalid as applied to El Cajon and asks the court to bar enforcement of those laws against the city’s police while the case proceeds. Fox News Digital contacted AG Bonta’s office, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for comment but did not receive responses before publication.
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