English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
SpanishCalifornia’s legislators have historically supported the rights of immigrants. Whether an immigrant is documented or undocumented and living and working in the state or merely visiting, The Golden State provides immigrants of any background the right to file claims and pursue damages due to negligence or other harm caused by one or more parties. What happens after they file is up for debate in 2026 as federal responses to immigrants continue to change rapidly.
California Code, CIV, Section 3339(a)(b): Protection of All Peoples
California has numerous laws in place to protect the rights of immigrants. With personal injury claims, California Code, CIV, Section 3339(a) states plainly that “all protections, rights, and remedies available under state law,” outside of prohibition from any “federal law,” apply to workers and former workers, no matter their immigration status. 3339(b) emphasizes that status is “irrelevant” when there’s an “issue of liability” that relates to enforcing laws related to employment and labor and other areas, including “civil rights, consumer protection, and housing laws.
California Code, EVID, Sections 351.2 and 351.3: Immigration Status Questions
While pursuing their rights, immigrants and their attorneys don’t have to provide immigration status information unless the person making the request can convince the judge that one or more federal immigration laws apply to the scenario. California Code, EVID, Section 351.2 makes it clear that immigration status can’t be used in “discovery or proceedings” or as evidence in “personal injury or wrongful death” civil cases.
Section 351.3 also guarantees that no attorney or party can reveal the immigration status of a plaintiff or defendant in open court unless the presiding judge rules that the information is admissible evidence or other state or federal laws apply to the case. For example, a judge might admit it as evidence if the status applies in some way to a claim or defense. An immigrant or their lawyer can also voluntarily supply status details at any time.
Some attorneys use immigration status to cast an undocumented immigrant in a negative light. Before these changes to California’s laws, undocumented victims who had to reveal their status in personal injury cases faced a more difficult battle to prove their trustworthiness and recover damages that reflected their actual losses.
What About Courthouse Arrests and ICE?
The California Values Act (SB 54) states that no California resources are to be used to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers or their efforts. California police officers and sheriffs, for example, aren’t supposed to ask either party in a personal injury case about their immigration status or arrest them for most immigration-related violations. California Code, CIV, Section 43.54(a) forbids indoor courthouse civil arrests unless a member of law enforcement making the arrest has a judicial warrant.
As seen in recent news stories, ICE agents and representatives of the Department of Homeland Security have shown repeatedly that they don’t consider state laws valid and ignore different ones on a case-by-case basis.
All of these actions have made many legal and undocumented immigrants wary of filing claims or seeking legal support for their personal injury cases. That said, immigrants should contact a local personal injury lawyer for guidance. A victim can learn more about California’s personal injury and immigrant-specific laws, ongoing federal immigration enforcement actions and changes, and the pros and cons of pursuing their case.