Protesters blast Santa Clara jail deputies over 46 ICE detentions

MILPITAS, Calif. - Dozens of protesters gathered outside a Santa Clara County jail in Milpitas on Wednesday, accusing deputies of allowing ICE agents to "kidnap" 46 newly released inmates since June.

"ICE out of Elmwood!" they chanted outside the Elmwood Correctional Facility, banging a drum and burning sage.

"The county has taken a hands-off approach to this ICE-jail pipeline," one woman said.

"This is Ground Zero for ICE operations as we know it, ICE pickups," a man said.

Xavier Espana, an organizer with Silicon Valley De-Bug said, "I think it's manipulation, I think it's upsetting, it's dishonorable and it's honestly disappointing.

The backstory:

Since June, 46 inmates released from this jail were immediately scooped up by ICE agents, according to sheriff's data cited by protesters. They called them "abductions" and held up "missing" signs, one for each of the 46 who were transferred to federal custody.

The sheriff's office has long said it does not cooperate with ICE. But Espana said deputies still make it too easy.

"They had their own little press conference saying they would not work with ICE, but clearly they are working with ICE, even though there's a way they can claim that they're not," Espana said.

"They are supposed to leave these doors after doing their time, into freedom," said Darcie Green of San Jose. "And instead, they're being released into the jaws of ICE. And that is something that's not supposed to happen here in this county. 

Dig deeper:

Each morning, the sheriff's office makes available a list of the roughly 70 inmates that will be released from the jail that day. It's accessible to the public, whether it's family members of inmates - or federal agents.

"We cannot interfere with anything another law enforcement agency is doing. That would be considered obstruction," said sheriff's spokesman Brooks Jarosz, who added online portals with release dates are also available for anyone to see.

"What we've found is ICE knows who they're looking for, and they come in and check that log," Jarosz said. "We're not having interactions with them or giving them any advance warning."

The other side:

That doesn't satisfy critics. They say there could be a workaround to avoid ICE interceptions.

"What can't happen is just a closed door, this is just how it has to be and there's nothing we can do about it. There's always something we can do about it," Green said.

The sheriff's office says they want to keep the public informed. 

"We don't want to withhold that information because we feel, from a transparency perspective, we want anyone who has a loved one in our facility to get that information," Jarosz said.

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on X @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan