By Nigel Duara and Tomas Apodaca
In summary
President Donald Trump wants to deport undocumented immigrants arrested on suspicion of various crimes. That could put sheriffs overseeing California jails in conflict with the state’s sanctuary law.
They can enforce a state sanctuary law that some of them personally oppose, or they can roll out the welcome mat to federal immigration enforcement authorities whom Trump has promised will carry out the largest deportation program in American history.
Some California sheriffs have pledged not to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement authorities, based on their own policies or laws passed by their counties, and will forbid immigration agents from using county personnel, property or databases without a federal warrant.
Others said that while California law prevents direct cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, immigration authorities are free to use their jail websites and fingerprints databases to identify people of interest.
“Several state leaders would prefer we do not have any communication with ICE, however, that is not what (the laws) say,” said Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni. “ICE may access jail bookings through our public website and fingerprint information put into the national database to identify any incarcerated persons of interest to them.”
And one sheriff, Chad Bianco of Riverside County, said he would work around California law, if he could, to ensure more people are deported.
CalMatters attempted to contact all 58 sheriff’s offices in California. Twenty-seven responded by Friday afternoon. Most sheriffs who responded simply said they will follow state law, spelled out in a bill passed during the first Trump administration that limited California law enforcement participation in immigration enforcement.
Before Trump’s inauguration today, immigration raids in the Central Valley earlier this month already had undocumented migrants and their families concerned about massive enforcement sweeps on immigrant-dependent industries like agriculture. Trump and cabinet officials from his first term have pledged “targeted arrests” of undocumented people, and view local law enforcement as “force multipliers” of that effort.
California sheriffs could play an influential role in determining whether someone gets arrested and deported because they manage the state’s local jail system, where people suspected of committing crimes are held while awaiting trial. A bill named after a slain Georgia nursing student that is expected to pass in Congress could enhance sheriffs’ sway over immigration enforcement by prioritizing deportations of undocumented immigrants arrested on suspicion of burglary and shoplifting, regardless of whether they’re convicted.
The majority of sheriffs who responded to a CalMatters inquiry said they were balancing their duties with their need for cooperation from frightened immigrant communities. They worry those communities will shun all law enforcement if they fear deportation based on their immigration status alone.
“You don’t know how many calls I’ve gotten from Hispanics in my area that I’ve known, I’ve grown up with, they’re all worried about family members,” said Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall. “I’ve got in-laws through my children calling me because they’re concerned, but let’s look at the ability to actually enforce this crap.
“Hell, I’ve got 50 deputies and I can barely keep a lid on crime in a county of 90,000. How are these guys coming out here with all of this ‘We’re gonna deport 10 million people’ or something. No, that’s ridiculous. It’s not gonna happen.”
Kendall said he undoubtedly has people in his community who have committed serious crimes and are also undocumented, and wants those people arrested.
“If they want to go out and deport all the criminals, knock yourselves out, but let’s pick and choose what’s important and what is not,” he said.
One consistent theme: Every sheriff who responded to CalMatters said immigration enforcement isn’t their job. But some of them went further, pledging not to honor immigration holds, while others said they will neither “prevent nor hinder” immigration enforcement agents from doing their jobs.
Sanctuary law divided California sheriffs
When Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation making California a sanctuary state in 2017, barring police from inquiring about people’s immigration status and participating in federal immigration enforcement, the reaction from the Trump administration was immediate.
The administration cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in law enforcement grants to sanctuary cities that limited cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The Biden administration restored the grants in 2021.
Several California sheriffs were outspoken critics of the sanctuary law during Trump’s previous presidency. A group of San Joaquin Valley sheriffs traveled with Trump to the border in 2019, where they endorsed his immigration policies.
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