Orange County Sheriff Don Burns said he blew up the state’s sanctuary law that bars local law enforcement from contacting immigrants when undocumented immigrants were held at the county jail, but he would not instruct his deputies to enforce immigration laws.
“We don’t want to enforce immigration laws. We never have and never will,” Burns told the Supervisory Board on Tuesday. “But we need to have the ability to communicate and share the threat and removal of criminal offenders who prey on our community, often within the immigrant communities they live in.”
At the same meeting, Burns called for the repeal of SB 54, a law approved by voters in 2017, and drafted part of it as a response to the first Trump administration’s policies to strengthen deportation and immigration detention.
Now, Trump is calling for a massive deportation in his second term. This will target visa holders and immigrant targets without criminal history, prompting new scrutiny of state law as local law enforcement seeks to determine how local law enforcement will work with federal immigration authorities.
The latest push against Trump’s deportation and California’s rebellion have put local law enforcement officials in unstable places.
Under SB 54, local law enforcement officials are prohibited from using money or resources to enforce federal immigration. However, the law allows local enforcers to screen inmates if they are asked by US immigrants and customs enforcement officers whether they have been convicted of certain violent felony or misdemeanors, such as assault, battery, child abuse, or sexual abuse.
If an inmate has not been convicted of such a crime, the law prohibits local law enforcement from notifying ICE when it is released from custody.
Last year, county jail officials were asked by ICE officials to screen 633 prisoners who were detained in the county jail. Of those inmates, 226 were introduced to the ice as illegally in the country. Federal agencies have detained 186 of those inmates, according to a nationally mandatory disclosure released Tuesday.
Some immigration rights advocates spoke during a meeting Tuesday, criticizing supervisors and sheriffs for continuing to review immigration in prisons, urging county officials to stop working with federal immigration officials.
While lawmakers and local law enforcement agencies are prohibited from asking about immigrant status on a daily basis when talking to suspects or witnesses, supporters said local law enforcement cooperation with immigrant staff could undermine public trust and prevent people from reaching out to police.
“It undermines public safety and our local economy,” said Carlos Perea, executive director of the Harbor Institute for Immigrant Economic Justice.
Burns emphasized that representatives from the state’s third largest county focus on enforcing state and local laws rather than immigration law. However, he also revealed that he supports greater cooperation with immigration staff regarding undocumented immigrants who are not detained in county jails, but he said his agency will continue to comply with state law.
Speaking to the supervisor on Tuesday, Burns criticized the so-called sanctuary law, providing examples of immigrants who were arrested in Orange County, re-arrested and re-arrested other crimes, including tricking, drug sales and child abuse.
“People who are not picked up by ICE continue to sacrifice our community and consume law enforcement resources,” he said.
Of the 633 inmates who asked Ice to be screened in Orange County, 407 did not meet state standards for notifying federal officials, Burns said.
However, it is up to the discretion of law enforcement to notify federal employees of those who meet the criteria.
That option has also already sparked conflict among local officials opposed how much law enforcement should be involved in immigration enforcement.
In February, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said his deputies would not be involved in immigration enforcement.
The statement shared in a video posted on social media was partially shared to address rumors that Riverside deputies were involved in the immigrant attack, Bianco said.
Bianco, an outspoken supporter of President Trump, has criticised California’s sanctuary law.
But Bianco told Fox 11 LA that he “works in some way around SB 54 on ice.”
San Diego County supervisors adopted a policy in December that would stop prison staff from working with federal officials, regardless of their previous conviction.
However, San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez, who oversees the prison, opposed the board of supervision and said he would not follow the county’s policies.
Martinez, as an elected official and supervisor at the prison, insisted that she was the only one who could set policies for the Sheriff’s Office, and vowed to continue notifying the ice when anyone not permitted to be in the country is released from the county jail.
In Orange County, supervisors appeared primarily in support of the sheriff’s policy.
Director Don Wagner noted that the 226 inmates introduced to the ice formed part of more than 48,000 bookings that occurred at the prison last year.
“The sheriff will not be condemned for the very wise use of his powers he outlined today,” Wagner said.
