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California just handed immigration nonprofit workers a shield that critics say doubles as a muzzle for the reporters chasing them.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 2624 on Aug. 22, adding immigration support workers to the state program that hides the home addresses of people deemed at risk, according to a release from the governor’s office. The office issued no statement defending the measure, which Republicans have tagged “Stop Nick Shirley Act.”
The signature landed days after a staffer for Democratic Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor confronted Shirley outside the state Capitol. Chief of staff Terry Schanz interrupted the independent journalist’s sidewalk interview Wednesday, according to the New York Post. (RELATED: ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’: Democrats Push To Criminalize Exposing Fraud, Republican Warns)
“Did you guys hear that Nick Shirley has a small penis allegedly?” Schanz asked. Several formal complaints against Schanz reached the Legislature’s HR department, KCRA political director Ashley Zavala reported.
The law adds immigration nonprofit staff and volunteers to the Safe at Home program, which gives them state-issued substitute addresses to keep their homes off public records. The program already covers domestic violence survivors, elder abuse victims and reproductive and gender-affirming care workers, according to the Post.
Under the law, anyone who posts a covered worker’s image or personal details to incite violence faces damages starting at $4,000, not capped there, plus court costs. Posting with intent that someone commit a violent crime brings a fine reaching $10,000 and up to a year in jail. If the post leads to injury, the bill text makes it a felony punishable by up to $50,000.
Democratic Assemblywoman Mia Bonta, D-Alameda, introduced the bill in February, according to the Post. “Our immigrant service providers are living in fear because of extremists looking to demonize the work that they do and the populations they serve,” Bonta said Saturday, according to the Post.
The bill text carves out an exemption for journalists shielded under state evidence law. Republican Sen. Ashley Moody of Florida branded it the “Protect Fraudsters Act,” according to the Post. Shirley has said the measure followed his reporting alleging fraud in immigrant communities across California and Minnesota.
