The Marin County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Oct. 20 to restrict how federal immigration enforcement can use county resources. Before the vote, we looked at the debate over a policy versus an ordinance.
What the policy does
- Bars federal immigration agencies from using county-owned or controlled property as staging areas, processing sites or bases of operation, except where the law requires it.
- Requires a judicial warrant or other legal authority to enter nonpublic county facilities.
- Reinforces limits on sharing confidential county information for immigration enforcement.
- Requires county employees to report enforcement activity on county property to the County Executive within 24 hours, and requires the Sheriff's Office and Probation to report monthly to County Counsel.
Journalist Jeff Dooley reported that Assistant County Executive Laura Rosas said the policy would become enforceable within about three weeks, after the county meets and confers with its labor unions.
Why residents wanted more
Patch reported that the No ICE in Marin coalition has gathered more than 10,000 petition signatures. "A policy is a guideline. An ordinance is the law," said Tammy Edmonson, a coalition organizer. Dooley reported that activists want an ordinance on the Nov. 10 agenda. He also reported that attendees turned their backs while Sheriff Jamie Scardina spoke, and that the jail's open booking logs remain a point of conflict.
"We cannot take away all the fear families are carrying, but we can act on the authority we have," Supervisor Brian Colbert said, according to Patch. Patch also reported that the county added $1 million this year for immigration legal services and rapid response, for a two-year total of $1.5 million.