Gov. Jerry Brown, D-Calif. signed a new law protecting illegal immigrants Thursday — a day after President Donald Trump assailed the state's immigration policies.
Under the newly signed measure, lawyers will be prevented from revealing the immigration status of crime victims and witnesses in open court unless a judge rules the information is relevant to the case, the Los Angeles Times reported.
It also protects witnesses, victims and defendants – and applies in all criminal cases and most civil cases, except those involving personal injury or wrongful death, the news outlet reported.
The measure was sparked by concerns of the state's top judge over reports of immigration agents following illegal immigrants into California courthouses, the Times reported.
"Our courthouses should be places of justice, not places where immigrants are threatened with deportation," the law's sponsor, state Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, said in a statement, the Times reported.
"This law makes everyone in our community safer by ensuring that witnesses and victims of crime are not afraid to report crimes, go to court and hold criminals accountable."