Supervisors ban construction of immigration detention facilities.

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 on Tuesday, Sept. 29 to temporarily ban the construction of detention facilities in unincorporated Monterey County.  

The moratorium is on the construction or expansion of detention or correctional facilities on unincorporated Monterey County land. 

At the end of the 45-day period on Nov. 3, the supervisors can vote to extend the moratorium for another 22 months and 15 days, which would total two years of the moratorium.

They also voted to prohibit the use of county property for civil immigration enforcement activities, and to include that language in any county leases as well. The exceptions are for criminal enforcement, or legal reasons such as a valid arrest warrant. 

County staff brought forward the moratorium in response to the board's request in May that they seek ways to prevent detention facilities from being built on county lands. That request arose in response to concerns over a proposed detention facility near Gilroy in unincorporated Santa Clara County.

"The fear and anxiety that it creates is not confined to that facility,” District 1 Supervisor Luis Alejo said during the meeting. "Fear spreads through the entire region.”

Monterey County initially responded to the detention facility proposed near Gilroy by opposing it alongside a coalition of 26 cities and counties. They also joined litigation against ICE seeking to block construction of the facility. 

Construction of the detention facility near Gilroy has since been paused by a federal judge because ICE failed to conduct proper environmental review of the site. 

San Mateo and Napa counties have also brought forward similar draft ordinances to restrict the building of detention facilities on unincorporated county lands. The City of San Jose also enacted a similar ordinance on Sept. 29. 

There are currently no dedicated immigration detention facilities in Monterey County. There are three correctional facilities that would not fall under the ordinance, as none are on unincorporated county lands: Salinas Valley State Prison and Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, and Monterey County Jail in Salinas. 

The county used the reasoning of public health, safety and environmental concerns to justify the moratorium, saying they would conduct a review of their regulations around detention facilities.