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Immigration enforcement concerns in the North Bay
Hundreds of people packed into a board of supervisors meeting in Marin County Tuesday night for the annual Truth Act Forum. Its an assembly required by California law for local law enforcement to outline its cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - Hundreds of people packed into a board of supervisors meeting in Marin County Tuesday night for the annual Truth Act Forum. It's an assembly required by California law for local law enforcement to outline its cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
More than 6,000 Marin residents have signed a petition calling on the sheriff to stop cooperating with ICE.
Holding the sheriff accountable
It’s another example of people power causing change in how California is dealing with ICE. The Marin County Sheriff's Office currently operates under a "limited cooperation" policy with ICE, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Citizens who met with the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday evening told supervisors and the sheriff that they want any and all cooperation with ICE completely cut off, absent a judicial warrant.
"We want our sheriff to protect our neighbors and, meanwhile, he is doing everything he can legally do to cooperate with ICE. He does things that he's doing that he doesn't have to do," said Marin resident Margaret Fisher.
Sheriff claims misinformation abounds
The sheriff wanted to set the record straight. "Unfortunately, there's a lot of misinformation about what people think the Marin County Sheriff's Office participates in when it comes to immigration enforcement," said Marin County Sheriff Jamie Scardina.
In fact. Sheriff Scardina counters that his office does not enforce federal immigration laws, initiate contact with ICE, contract with ICE, assist ICE in sweeps, ask for anyone's immigration status, allow ICE into the jail's secure areas, or report individuals who are in jail for minor or misdemeanor non-violent offenses.
"Please pay attention to what we do and, more importantly, what we don't do," he said.
The other side:
Residents spoke out strongly.
"Whenever the sheriff has had discretion, he has chosen to assist ICE to the maximum extent allowed by law," said one. "There is no legal requirement for this and, in fact, it's illegal under California's Values Act, which states that no state or local resources may be used to assisted federal immigration enforcement," said another.
Big accusations
What the folks at the meeting want the sheriff not to do is threefold. End all cooperation with ICE, unless there is a judicial warrant forcing it. Quit publishing jail bookings that give ICE information to go and arrest undocumented people, and immediately quit taking ICE money to reimburse the sheriff's jail for incarcerating undocumented individuals.
The meeting attendees, mostly who appeared to be in their 60s and 70s, made their points. "You know, the New York Times reported just yesterday, 40% of the people arrested by ICE last month had no prior criminal record," said another resident.
In the last two years, just 37 violent, undocumented individuals led to the Marin sheriff notifying ICE that they were in custody.
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