At least four people have been detained on Marin County property over the past week, according to the Marin Rapid Response Network, an organization that monitors ICE activity in the county.
This comes after the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a policy limiting ICE’s ability to operate in the county in an effort to block federal immigration agencies from using county property as operational hubs. The policy also requires county employees to report immigration enforcement activity.
On Oct. 20, the same day the board passed its policy, ICE detained someone outside the county jail, according to Patty Hoyt, a volunteer with the Marin Rapid Response Network. The following day, the organization documented ICE agents detaining someone inside the Civic Center.
“They walked into the county building,” said Hoyt. “They parked in a red zone. They had no vehicle license plates. They parked in reserved spots for Marin law enforcement, and they snatched someone.”
She said two more people were picked up on Oct. 23 when the organization received hundreds of calls from people reporting black cars with covered license plates and tinted windows.
The “No ICE in Marin” coalition — a group representing over a dozen organizations including the Marin Rapid Response Network — said ICE activity this last week is proof of the policy’s toothlessness. And the group criticized the policy for only applying to non-public county property, like offices, rather than all county property.
The county did not respond to a request for comment but said during the Oct. 20 meeting that there’s only so much it can do.
“State and local governments cannot directly regulate the federal government or federal officials and their conduct carrying out federal law,” Chief Deputy County Counsel Kate Stanford said. “State and localities also cannot discriminate against the federal government.”
No ICE in Marin has been calling for an ordinance instead of a policy, saying that an ordinance is enforceable. The county opted for a policy, saying it was simpler to pass and amend.
In an email to KALW, an ICE spokesperson wrote, “Sanctuary politicians attempting to disrupt federal law enforcement is a deliberate attempt to undermine the rule of law. To be crystal clear: we will not abide by unconstitutional policies and ordinances.”
Supervisor Mary Sackett pointed to the limits of the county’s enforcement ability. “It would be cruel to overpromise protections to a community already living with fear and uncertainty,” she said.
Nearby cities and counties have set different kinds of policies. San Francisco County bans federal immigration enforcement from all county property.
The Marin Rapid Response Network said 51 people have been taken into ICE custody this year, most picked up from the county jail.
