San Diego County Board of Supervisors I voted It was intended to strengthen and expand sanctuary policies beyond state mandates, with the goal of protecting undocumented immigrants from future mass deportation efforts by President-elect Donald Trump.
President Nora Vargas proposed the following: suggestionCiting former Gov. Jerry Brown, he argued that it was consistent with state law. California Assembly Bill 4which prevents local law enforcement from responding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention requests.
“This policy means that illegal immigrants who commit any of these horrific crimes will now walk freely on our streets.”
ICE detainees urge local authorities to hold already detained criminal illegal aliens in jails for up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release date to give ICE agents time to transfer them to federal custody. I am doing it. However, California law prohibits this cooperation, forcing ICE to spend extra resources tracking and rearresting these people once they are back on the streets, which It is considerably more expensive for the authorities and far more dangerous for the arresting police officer.
In 2017, former Governor Brown further restricted cooperation between local governments and ICE by: California Senate Bill 54prohibiting the transfer of illegal aliens to federal employees and prohibiting them from notifying ICE of release dates.
Mr. Vargas' policy is that “release will not be delayed absent a federal warrant.”
Ahead of the vote, Vargas warned that some residents and fellow board members would share “a lot of misinformation” in opposition to her proposal.
More than 100 San Diego County residents registered to speak about the policy, and the county received more than 500 electronic comments about the policy.
Mr. Vargas' policy states, “Today's action will require counties to provide assistance and support to ICE in its private immigration enforcement efforts, including by providing ICE officers with access to individuals and by granting access to individuals.” A resolution and Board Policy L-2 confirming that no cooperation will be provided will be adopted.” expending county time or resources in county facilities for investigative interviews or other purposes, responding to ICE inquiries, communicating with ICE regarding an individual's incarceration status or release date, or participating in other private immigration enforcement activities; to do. ”
It added: “The proposed policy would not limit or prohibit assistance with investigative efforts by local, state, or federal law enforcement agencies regarding suspected violations of criminal law.”
The proposed policy passed on a 3-1 vote Tuesday.
Supervisor Jim Desmond had the only dissenting opinion. He criticized Vargas' policies as “radical,” “reckless” and “a direct betrayal of the people he is sworn to protect.”
“Today's outrageous decision to turn San Diego County into a 'super' sanctuary county is an affront to all law-abiding citizens who value safety and justice,” he said in an emailed press release.
“Consider this: Under this policy, law enforcement agencies must notify ICE of individuals in their custody who have committed violent and heinous crimes, including rape and stalking, assault and battery, robbery, child abuse, etc. “We are prohibited from doing so,” Desmond explained.
“To be clear, this policy means that after serving their sentences, undocumented immigrants who commit these horrific crimes are protected by county policy and free to walk the streets without coordination with ICE,” he continued. “It means walking,” he added. . ”
After the board's vote, the San Diego County Sheriff's Office released a statement refusing to enforce the new policy.
Sheriff Kelly A. Martinez I wrote“As Sheriff of San Diego County, my top priority is to protect the safety and well-being of all residents in our diverse community. Protecting the rights of undocumented immigrants is important, but ensuring that victims of crime It is equally important to protect them.'' Victims include undocumented immigrants, who are not overlooked or ignored in the process. These vulnerable people have expressed to me that their legal status is used as a weapon against them when criminals from their communities are victimized. ”
The sheriff's office argued that the Board of Supervisors does not set a policy.
Department said“As an independent elected official, the sheriff sets policy for the sheriff's office. California law provides that the Board of Supervisors cannot interfere with the independent, constitutionally and legally designated investigative functions of the sheriff. It is clear that the sheriff has the sole and exclusive authority to operate the county jail. ”
“The Sheriff's Department does not intend to change its practices based on the board resolutions and policies passed at today's meeting,” it declared.
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