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San Mateo County Sheriff Carlos Bolanos said Tuesday his department will end transfer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a decision that comes amid public backlash and less than a week after the annual TRUTH Act Forum where dozens of residents spoke out overwhelmingly against the practice.
Bolanos said the decision, which takes effect immediately, was made in part due to his desire to maintain a trusting relationship with the public.
“It simply is not worth losing the trust of many members of the public by continuing to process these requests from ICE, ” Bolanos said in a statement. “This change is being made after we heard from hundreds of residents who shared their perspective on how we will all be safer when the entire community understands the Sheriff’s Office is here to protect the public, not enforce immigration laws.”
On Wednesday, dozens of residents spoke during the public comment portion of a special Board of Supervisors meeting, the TRUTH Act forum, an annual meeting required for any county that voluntarily releases immigrants to ICE custody.
Prior to the meeting, community members and advocates gathered to protest Bolanos’ continued cooperation with ICE.
The Sheriff’s Office reported that they released 15 immigrants to ICE in 2020, accounting for 62% of all Bay Area transfers and more than any other individual county.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
More progressive lawlessness. It’s sad that the interest that Americans have in not being subject to the presence of violent illegal immigrants is ignored.
UNBELIEVABLE.
I hope one of these illegals that get released don’t hurt or kill someone. Progressive stupidity.
This does not make me feel safer, just the opposite.
Did any of you read the article?
“…the Sheriff’s Office is here to protect the public, not enforce immigration laws…”
If a crime is committed, local law enforcement will deal with it. Those of you cowering in fear after reading this news should be assured that criminals will not be roaming the streets. In fact, our community will be safer without the constant threat from ICE with its cruel and abusive treatment of undocumented residents. Undocumented residents are the people who clean your house, take care of your kids, cut your grass, and work hard to support their families and become contributing members of the community.
Some of you were apparently born with a silver spoon and think that confers some kind of moral superiority.
Frozen,
Are those undocumented people convicted felons who were convicted of violent crimes such as sexual abuse of a minor or kidnapping? I didn’t think so. You might want to read up on the 15 cases were ICE was notified, the community is safer by deporting those individuals. This is not a case of arresting and deporting undocumented people, far from it. So before you start attacking posters ask yourself would you want one of those 15 people living next door to you?
And yes I am morally superior to those convicted felons, as is anyone who has not be convicted of a violent felony. I don’t kidnap people, sexually assault minors or commit other violent crimes. Wouldn’t you consider yourself “Morally superior” to someone who does? No Silver Spoon, just a good sense of right and wrong and a committment to help others and not hurt them.
@Enough: felons generally serve time in state prisons, not the county jail. So no,the inmates in county jails are not violent criminals.
If that is not reassuring enough, the county’s complete statement also included this reminder: “If ICE believes an individual poses a serious threat, it can always obtain a judicial warrant, which all law enforcement agencies in the Bay Area must honor.” The county knows that ICE doesn’t want to have to obtain warrants; they prefer to take the law into their own hands.
Note that Sheriff Bolanos made the decision after hearing from dozens of residents about ICE terrorizing the community. ICE has become infamous for its repeated violation of constitutional rights, including denial of due process, as well as for physical abuse of those unfortunate enough to fall into its grasp.
I would rather live next door to an undocumented immigrant who has spent some time in county jail for a misdemeanor than to an ICE agent.
Frozen,
It is possible to live next door to an undocumented immigrant who has spent time in the county jail if you come and live in East Palo Alto. Probably would better fix your Federal employee vs. undocumented immigrant neighbor concern better than your current living situation
Frozen:
what part of these people having been convicted of felonies don’t you understand? They may have spent time in county jail for something different, but if they are convicted of a felony and do time in prison, they are supposed to be deported because we don’t want illegal alien convicted felons living here. If they were convicted of a felony, they shouldn’t be here to get arrested on a misdemeanor. They aren’t supposed to be here. They need to be redeported. I wouldn’t be worried about living next door to a convicted misdemeanant. These people are CONVICTED FELONS. Bolanos is being a coward.
Having worked to secure the legal rights of undocumented East Palo Alto residents, I can assure you that they are not the monsters some of you are trying to depict. If they have committed violent crimes, they will be deported, but those criminals represent only a small percentage of the people threatened by ICE.
What’s ironic is that many of you will be back here tomorrow, claiming that you want more diversity in Menlo Park. This is what diversity looks like, folks. If you could step outside your privilege bubble, maybe you’d realize that the bigger world isn’t that scary.
Frozen does not seem to know much about the people he is trying to defend. Let me try to help.
In the original article it stated that:
“According to Bolanos, examples of the crimes committed by these individuals include kidnapping, lewd and lascivious acts towards a child under the age of 14, and assault with deadly weapons.”
Those are felonies and the people convicted (not charged but CONVICTED) of these crimes are not someone on want in our community and not someone we should support is they are not here legally.
Second, yes felons are housed in county prisons:
“Felonies are crimes that are punishable by up to three years in county jail, by a state prison sentence up to life (with or without possibility of parole) or by the death penalty.”
https://www.wklaw.com/practice-area/felony-sentencing/
So I reiterate that these individuals, all 15 of them, should have been deported and their deportation makes our communities safer.
I am also a first generation American with one of my parents immigrating here as a teen and growing up pretty poor before serving in the military and then working hard to succeed. I am sure they would have felt the same way about immigrants (documented or undocumented) that were convicted of a violent crime.
Frozen, As someone who actually LIVES in East Palo Alto and is surrounded by immigrants, undocumented and documented, you don’t impress me with your knowledge. You’re leaving out a lot and we both know that. Of course dangerous inmates get released from jail who didn’t go to prison and some of them are undocumented. We grapple with plenty of violent undocumented immigrants as well as other undocumented residents who commit crimes here in East Palo Alto. My undocumented neighbors, reading your comments with me, both said you’re being insulting by conflating behaviors of the undocumented.
I look forward to ICE’s figuring this out so they continue to scoop up those I don’t want as neighbors, because unlike Frozen, I don’t have much choice.
@Frozen: illegal immigrants are not what diversity looks like. I’ll tell you what it looks like. First, it is composed of people who respect our laws—-unlike illegal immigrants. I live in West Menlo and my neighbors, all of whom are here legally, include Asian-Americans, Indians, Iranians, Italians, Spaniards, African-Americans and a few Caucasians scattered here and there. That’s what diversity looks like.
Let’s face it, unless you are full blooded native American they we can all trace our family tree back to immigrants. “Documented” or “undocumented”, “legal” or “illegal”, or what even the newest terms are. Immigration is what made this country great (except for Native Americans, but that is a different topic). We are a very diverse country and a very diverse city. The proble is not with immigration it is with people committing violent felonies. If someone is a citizen you can not “deport” them as the United States is their legal residency. An “undocumented” immigrant can be deported and should be in they are convicted of a violent felony. Note this is not convicted of any crime, not even any felony but a violent felon is a danger to the community regardless if they have served their sentence or not. It is for the safety of other in the community that it makes sense, when legally possible, to remove them from our community. I am willing to bet that the people arguing otherwise would also be arguing against placing a paroled violent felon in their neighborhood or next door.