In preparation for a new era in Washington, tensions are running high just over two weeks into the new administration. Among other things, communities are concerned about how the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will operate.
Those sentiments came up at the County Board of Supervisors Meeting on Jan. 29 in response to a report provided by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office which detailed the number of incarcerated people who were released into ICE custody in 2024.
“I would be interested to know if at this point in time, in this particular political climate, if this sort of cooperation could be suspended, what that would look like so we can do absolutely everything we can to protect our communities against mass deportations,” Supervisor Kate Daniels said. “I am concerned.”
Beginning in 2018, the Sheriff’s Office increased restrictions on ICE agents’ access to incarcerated people in the Monterey County Jail. The Sheriff’s Office reported a total of 11 individuals in 2024 who met the criteria for qualifying charges related to more serious or high-level offenses, which are the circumstances under which local law enforcement can cooperate with ICE.
But supervisors questioned whether or not the sheriff’s office needs to cooperate with them at all, as well as the potential consequences if they don’t.
“If we don’t cooperate, those folks who have committed the most heinous acts will be on the street,” Supervisor Chris Lopez said. “My concern comes at the point [where] ICE will still be looking for them, and if they show up at their place of work that there won’t be collateral damage.”
Others, like attorney Michelle Welsh, a professor of constitutional law at Monterey College of Law, feel that the less communication with ICE the better.
“I would hope to see their relationship completely change to zero cooperation with ICE,” Welsh says. “That’s what they do in Santa Cruz. Their sheriff’s policy is not to cooperate with ICE at all.”
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