Law is a quite interesting thing. It has clear black & white areas, but often, it has many shades of gray too, which get cleared up in court cases. For those of us who have fought cases in the courtroom, we know well how unclear laws can be, and how subjective they can be in the minds of cops, prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges.
California's attorney General Xavier Beccera has decided to push the limits regarding immigration law, and how business may deal with illegal aliens and federal officials looking to arrest them. Under a new California law – the Immigration Worker Protection Act – employers and businesses could face fines of up to $10,000 if they provide employee information to U.S. Immigration Customs, Becerra said.
If employers
“start giving up information about their employees or access to their employees in ways that contradict our new California laws, they subject themselves to actions by my office. We will prosecute those who violate the law,” he said at a news conference
Problem here could be a big one for the AG, as well as the governor, and all those legislators who made this law. They could all be in violation of federal law >> US Code 8, Section 1324, and could be arrested for harboring illegal aliens. The jist would be if what they have done meets the definition of "harboring". How one defines it probably depends on how favorable or unfavorable they look upon illegal immigration, generally.
Title 8, U.S.C. § 1324(a) defines several distinct offenses related to aliens. Subsection 1324(a)(1)(i)-(v) prohibits alien smuggling, domestic transportation of unauthorized aliens, concealing or harboring unauthorized aliens, encouraging or inducing unauthorized aliens to enter the United States, and engaging in a conspiracy or aiding and abetting any of the preceding acts.
In any case, this would be another one of those gray areas of jurisprudence, which can become better focused and standardized after court actions. But the question of the OP is whether Becerra and his colleagues who do appear to be harboring illegal aliens are in violation of US Code 8 Section 1324, or not.
1907. Title 8, U.S.C. 1324(a) Offenses | USAM | Department of Justice
Here is the federal law's definition of "Harboring" >>
Harboring -- Subsection 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii) makes it an offense for any person who -- knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, conceals harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place, including any building or any means of transportation.
Since this California law could also easily be seen as encouraging people to come to the US illegally, the US Code 8, Section 1324 definition of "Encouraging" could also come into play >>
Encouraging/Inducing -- Subsection 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) makes it an offense for any person who -- encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law.