Sanctuary City

Diverse Hayward residents

The City provides services to all residents, regardless of immigration status. The Hayward Police Department has a policy prohibiting their participation in civil immigration operations and enforcement.

Relevant City Policies

DOES THE HAYWARD POLICE DEPARTMENT WORK WITH FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES?

The Hayward Police Department has a policy that prohibits their officers from enforcing civil immigration laws or assisting any agency (state, local or federal) in immigration activities; except when it involves non-immigration related criminal offenses. This means the Hayward Police Department will never participate in immigration check points, civil immigration operations, and will not attempt to determine your immigration status if you ask for help or report a crime. The Hayward Police Department has an internal policy, which can be found at the link above.

Are City services available to all?

Yes, we want all our residents to take full advantage of City services, regardless of immigration status. The City does not ask for immigration status on any application, questionnaire, or interview form other than those required by federal or state law, regulation, or court decision. This means that the City will never ask for your immigration status when you are accessing library, water, code enforcement, education, or other services or submitting a complaint or concern via Access Hayward. The City has an administrative rule for all employees called the Immigration Status Non-Discrimination Policy, which can be found at the link above.

DOES THE CITY KNOW MY IMMIGRATION STATUS?

No. City employees, including law enforcement, are not trained to determine immigration status, will not ask you about your immigration status, and do not have access to databases that will contain this information.

WHAT IS HAYWARD UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT’S POLICY REGARDING UNDOCUMENTED RESIDENTS?

In December 2016, the Board of Education of the Hayward Unified School District passed Resolution No. 1617-26, a Sanctuary Schools Resolution. The Resolution specifically notes that if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were to visit any of our schools it would not be able to disrupt school operations; or if ICE were to request any information, the request must be forwarded to the Superintendent’s Office.

Additional Questions? Contact us at laurel.james@hayward-ca.gov or 510.583.4300.