San Diego parents oppose bill that would allow non-relatives to obtain guardianship if parents detained by ICE

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- The Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday morning placed Assembly Bill 495 or the Family Preparedness Plan Act on the suspense file, meaning the committee staff will review the bill's fiscal impact.

For the children who may get separated from their parents by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids, Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez introduced the bill to establish temporary guardianship for those children.

“The kids are the monkey in the middle, though,” said Mary Davis, an opponent of the bill. “It has good intentions. You want to protect the migrant kids.”

Davis opposes the bill because she says there’s not enough safeguards.  

“What prevents bad actors coming in and taking advantage of this?” she said.

Parents can fill out the Caregiver Authorization Affidavit to designate a temporary caregiver for their child.

“It’s not a vehicle to transfer legal custody on a permanent basis,” legal analyst Wendy Patrick said.

The bill expands the authorization to include non-relative extended family members like godparents or family friends.

“One of the issues might be, are the parents actually retaining their parental rights or are those rights being weakened over time as someone else is making decisions on behalf of the children?” Patrick said.

While the temporary guardian signs the affidavit under penalty of perjury, Davis says the expansion leaves some concerns.

“I could show up and say I’m Jane Doe, ID 12345. Nobody’s supposed to check it, and we’re just going to hand off our most precious?" Davis said.

According to current law, the affidavit does not require a parent signature, and AB 495 wouldn’t change that.

“Authenticity is always going to be an issue, especially if a parent hasn’t signed it, and it’s one of those things that’s granting this temporary legal guardianship, but how do you prove it?” Patrick said.

Rodriguez said in a statement, “AB 495 was developed in partnership with children’s and family law experts, and it does not allow strangers to claim guardianship over children without accountability."

“I’m just asking for them to see this from the helicopter view," Davis said. "Look at the big picture of the harm that could be done. Walk it back. Put in some safeguards.”

Davis organized a protest against the bill outside of the San Diego Unified School District headquarters on Tuesday afternoon.