On Tuesday, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 for a policy that would turn the jurisdiction into a “super sanctuary” county, thereby preventing its sheriff’s department from notifying ICE about illegal immigrants who had committed violent crimes.
The policy goes beyond California state law and will require a judge’s order for ICE to receive assistance from the county to transfer illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes to immigration authorities.
San Diego County Sheriff Kelly A. Martinez immediately responded, issuing a statement that said: “The Sheriff’s Office will not change its practices based on the Board resolution and policy that was passed at today’s meeting. The Board of Supervisors does not set policy for the Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff, as an independently elected official, sets the policy for the Sheriff’s Office. California law prohibits the Board of Supervisors from interfering with the independent, constitutionally and statutorily designated investigative functions of the Sheriff, and is clear that the Sheriff has the sole and exclusive authority to operate the county jails.”
“I think this policy goes beyond California’s existing sanctuary laws by adding an additional layer of bureaucracy that hinders local law enforcement from directly notifying ICE about illegal immigrants who are currently in our jails,” Supervisor Jim Desmond, the lone dissenting vote, declared. “And they have committed heinous crimes, including child abuse or endangerment, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but only if this conviction is for a felony, possession of an unlawful deadly weapon, gang-related offenses, a crime resulting in death or involving personal affliction or great bodily injury, possession or use of a firearm in the commission of an offense, torture, rape, and kidnapping. That’s the population we’re talking about.”
He pointed out that if an illegal immigrant committed one of those crimes, “San Diego County would be legally prohibited from directly coordinating with ICE … effectively protecting these offenders from deportation.”
“Today’s outrageous decision to turn San Diego County into a ‘Super’ Sanctuary County is an affront to every law-abiding citizen who values safety and justice,” Desmond wrote on X. “The Board of Supervisors’ 3-1 vote to embrace this radical policy is a direct betrayal of the people we are sworn to protect. This reckless measure not only goes far beyond California’s already extreme Sanctuary State laws but actively endangers our communities by shielding illegal immigrant criminals from deportation.”
“I have already been in contact with the incoming Administration and will fight relentlessly to undo this disastrous policy and ensure that illegal immigrant criminals are removed from our neighborhoods,” he concluded.
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