Contra Costa County Sheriff defends notifying ICE of 77 release dates in 2020

MARTINEZ, Calif. - The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office provided ICE agents 77 release dates of arrested undocumented immigrants with felony convictions, authorities said. 

The Sheriff's office defended its practice of notifying federal immigration agents in a meeting on Thursday, according to the East Bay Times. 

Immigration rights activists criticized the notification but officials said making release dates public provides transparency about who is going back into the community after having committed a crime. 

SEE ALSO: 'It's not a victory if it's a transfer,' activists react to termination of ICE contract with jail

In 2018, the Sheriff's Office terminated its $2.4 million contract to detain immigrants in a Richmond jail on behalf of ICE.