Plainclothes ICE officers detain man in lobby of Elmwood jail

Santa Clara Co. sheriff says his office doesn't work with ICE

Santa Clara County Sheriff Bob Jonsen on Wednesday reiterated his office does not cooperate or coordinate with ICE agents on immigration enforcement. His statements come after federal agents, on four occasions, arrested undocumented migrants as they departed one of the county's jails, or were exiting Superior Court.

MILPITAS, Calif. - The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office confirmed that three plainclothes ICE officers entered the lobby of Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas last week and took a man leaving the jail into custody while his wife was there waiting to pick him up.

ICE agents detaining people at Elmood Jail, Hall of Justice

The confirmation came after the Mercury News reported the man's wife, Maribel Mesa, said she was there to take him home, which she never got to do because he was taken into federal custody in Bakersfield. In fact, there have been at least four instances where ICE has arrested people leaving Santa Clara County custody, the sheriff said.

Federal agents have also been seen at the clerk's office at the San Jose Hall of Justice, and have taken people into custody outside the courthouse as they arrived or left from various hearings, the sheriff said.

This has also been occurring in San Francisco and Concord, where there are also immigration courts, KTVU has previously reported, where at least some of those being detained were in court seeking asylum.

Community concern

In a lengthy statement, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said they are aware that the community is concerned about what local law enforcement can and can't do regarding sanctuary laws.

"We understand these events can cause distress," the sheriff's statement said . "However, we are legally obligated to provide equal access to publicly available information — whether the request comes from a family, friends, or any law enforcement agency. We do not profile or selectively withhold this information."

In this case, the sheriff's office said that the ICE officers provided the name and release date of the man, who had been in custody for a reason that hasn't been disclosed.

A deputy confirmed that information, which is available to anyone in the public.

As the man left custody, the sheriff's office said ICE took him into custody.

"The Sheriff’s Office did not assist in the arrest, nor did we provide advance notification to ICE," according to the statement. "We cannot and do not contact ICE to inform them of upcoming releases, in accordance with California’s Values Act (SB 54) and Santa Clara County policy."

Sheriff abides by sanctuary laws

The statement clarified that the sheriff does not provide ICE with advance notice of release, does not enforce civil immigration actions or detainers, and does not share criminal history with ICE for civil immigration purposes.

But the sheriff does comply with valid arrest warrants and court orders signed by judges, as required by law, and they will assist any law enforcement agency, including ICE, in urgent emergencies, the statement said.

72% have no criminal record

Nationwide, ICE has held 56,397 people in detention centers this year as of June 15 – the highest number since 2019, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

And of that number, 40,433 —or 71.7%— have no criminal record, the data showed.

In fact, the researchers found that 28.3 percent had been convicted of any crime, including many of these who had only been convicted of a minor traffic offense or a violation like not keeping a dog on a leash, fishing without a permit, or driving a vehicle with a tail light out, according to TRAC.

Adams County Detention Center in Natchez, Mississippi held the largest number of ICE detainees so far in 2025, averaging 2,166 per day, the researchers found.

San Francisco's area office has the highest number in ICE's Alternatives to Detention monitoring programs, according to the data.