SLO County Supervisors Discuss Local Cooperation with ICE in Community Forum
Jarrod Zinn
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – The SLO County Board Of Supervisors reserved the entire afternoon session of today’s meeting for an update from the sheriff on immigration enforcement in the county.
Hundreds of people turned out for this forum, with anti-ICE protesters making themselves heard outside of the building before the forum began.
2013’s TRUST Act legislated that local agencies cannot hold inmates solely for ICE.
“I really appreciate you mentioning that the sheriff’s office, that you have a duty and a responsibility to all of the residents here in SLO County to keep all of us safe,” said SLO county supervisor Jimmy Paulding.
The TRUTH Act of 2016 mandated the reading of individuals’ rights, written consent for ICE interviews, and these public forums regarding local agencies’ cooperation with federal authorities.
“The big thing is, ICE being in our county, in Santa Barbara County, rustling up people, having people disappeared off the street with no due process,” says Mike Kokones, a resident of San Luis Obispo County. “And that’s just wrong. So we need to abolish ICE in its current form. It’s bad for everybody. It’s state sponsored terrorism.”
According to Sheriff Ian Parkinson’s report, the first year of the Trump administration in SLO County saw a sharp increase in ICE activities from the final year of the Biden administration, with nearly three times the detainer requests.
“We’ve met with groups that represent the community,” said Sheriff Parkinson. “We’ve discussed their concerns. We’ve discussed ways to combat that with the, Q and A the questions that we put into a flier in Spanish and English, which is being distributed throughout the community.”
Out of 287 notifications, 83 were complied with and 204 were not.
19 federal warrants were issued, up from only one in 2024, 69 releases were turned over to ice compared to one in 2024, and 11 requests for interviews were issued.
“I’m here today just to try and hear what my Board of supervisors,” says Marc Gonzales, who lives in San Luis Obispo. “I say mine because I’m a taxpayer in this county and I want to hear what they have to say about things. I like what I heard today, and that’s my first time being in this room with them and discussing this issue. So it’s good and refreshing to hear that everybody’s trying to work together to make the community safer.”
2018’s California Values Act further limited local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration agencies.
The TRUTH Act forums take place every year, but this year saw increased attention from the public amid a surge in immigration activity across the country.
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