Governor Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 1627 (“AB 1627”), the Misconduct Ends Law-Enforcement Trust Act of 2026, expanding the circumstances under which prior misconduct by an immigration enforcement officer may disqualify that person from serving as a peace officer in California. Importantly for law enforcement agencies conducting background investigations, prior employment in immigration enforcement is not, by itself, disqualifying. Rather, AB 1627 brings immigration enforcement officers within an existing statutory disqualification for certain former law enforcement officers who lost their certification for misconduct or engaged in serious misconduct that would have resulted in decertification had they been California peace officers. AB 1627 takes effect January 1, 2027.

The practical effect is that agencies evaluating applicants with prior immigration enforcement experience will need to determine whether the applicant’s prior conduct triggers Government Code section 1029, subdivision (a)(11)(A). An applicant is potentially disqualified if: (1) the applicant’s name is listed in one of the specified indexes or databases and the applicant’s law enforcement certification was revoked for misconduct; or (2) while employed as a law enforcement officer, the applicant engaged in serious misconduct that would have resulted in revocation of the applicant’s certification by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (“POST”) had the applicant been employed as a California peace officer. AB 1627 specifies that, for purposes of this disqualification, “employed in law enforcement” and “law enforcement officer” include law enforcement officers employed by another state, a United States territory, or the federal government who engage in immigration enforcement.

AB 1627 defines “immigration enforcement” broadly to encompass efforts to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of federal civil immigration law, as well as federal criminal immigration laws penalizing a person’s presence in, entry or reentry to, or employment in the United States. Thus, the new law potentially reaches immigration enforcement activity beyond employment by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”).

The distinction between AB 1627 and another bill considered by the Legislature this year is significant. On September 30, 2026, Governor Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 1896 (“AB 1896”), known as the Get the Feds Out (“GTFO”) Act. AB 1896 would have imposed a substantially broader employment prohibition based on participation in specified federal immigration enforcement activity, rather than requiring the misconduct-based showing applicable under AB 1627.

In his veto message, Governor Newsom characterized the default employment prohibition proposed by AB 1896 as “a step too far.” Because AB 1896 was vetoed, California law does not categorically disqualify an applicant from peace officer employment merely because the applicant previously engaged in federal immigration enforcement. Under AB 1627, the relevant inquiry remains whether the applicant falls within the misconduct-based grounds for disqualification under Government Code section 1029, subdivision (a)(11)(A).