By Jeanne Kuang

WHAT THE BILL WOULD DO

Assembly Bill 495, authored by Arleta Democratic Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez, is intended to allow undocumented parents to establish a caregiver for their children if they’re detained by immigration agents or deported. It does that primarily with a long-existing form called the caregiver’s authorization affidavit, which allows an adult relative caring for a child who isn’t their parent, such as a sibling, grandparent or aunt or uncle, to temporarily make decisions such as enrollling the child in school or making medical decisions. The bill would allow a wider range of relatives to sign the form and serve as caregivers, including any adult “who is related to the child by blood, adoption, or affinity within the fifth-degree of kinship.” Parents could also designate a guardian for their children in family court. 

WHO SUPPORTS IT

The bill is backed by immigrants’ rights groups and children’s legal advocates who say families should be able to prepare in case parents are unavailable, such as in the case of a deportation. They argue immigrant families might not have many blood relatives nearby but often rely on extended family members and community networks who could step in if a parent is arrested, rather than having the child be put in foster care.

WHO IS OPPOSED

Republican lawmakers and a group of religious and conservative activists fiercely opposed the legislation, arguing it could allow strangers and predators to declare they are caregivers using the easily accessible authorization form. 

WHY IT MATTERS

It’s one of several measures Democrats advanced this year in response to the immigration raids directed by the Trump administration that have roiled California communities. But because it deals with child protection issues, it also energized a deeply active portion of the religious right, who turned out to protest it at the Capitol and have in some cases made false claims that the legislation would allow strangers to take custody of children. Attacks from the right on such issues have often put Democrats in a defensive position. In 2023, activists successfully urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto a bill that requires family court judges to consider a parent’s support of children’s gender transition in custody disputes.

GOVERNOR’S CALL ✅