Jerry Brown Receives Letter From 28 Democratic Representatives Urging Him To Sign TRUST Act

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), along with 28 of her Democratic colleagues, sent a letter to California Governor Jerry Brown encouraging him to sign a bill that would make it harder to deport illegal immigrants, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In the letter, the representatives urged Brown to sign the TRUST Act -- a bill he vetoed in 2012 -- were it to reach his desk.

The lawmakers claimed the bill would strengthen the distinction between local and federal jurisdiction while holding true to the prioritization of removing individuals with serious criminal records:

The TRUST Act is a vital policy because it establishes a bright line standard between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement. It will ensure that those who have not been convicted of any crime, have only been convicted of minor crimes, or those who are only identified by the S-Comm program because of their immigration history, are not held on costly and unfair federal immigration detainers.

The representatives argued that unnecessary deportations "reduced the willingness of immigrant and non-immigrant crime victims and witnesses to cooperate with local law enforcement, and consequently has diminished public safety."

In his veto message last year, Brown wrote that he was in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, but found "significant flaws" in the bill.

"I believe it's unwise to interfere with a sheriff's discretion to comply with a detainer issued for people with these kinds of troubling criminal records," he said.

The representatives responded to the veto in their letter, telling Brown that the current version of the bill "gives law enforcement much broader discretion to honor detainer requests."