California Sheriffs Pledge to Alert ICE of Violent Illegal Immigrant Inmates

‘I don’t want another Laken Riley to happen,’ Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman told The Epoch Times.

The Merced County Sheriff’s Department in California discovered several migrants who are human trafficking victims living in “horrible” conditions and working as apparent indentured laborers at an illegal marijuana grow operation in Merced, Calif., on July 26, 2023. Courtesy of Merced County Sheriff’s Department

The debate surrounding illegal immigration and the role of local law enforcement has reignited as county sheriffs across the state are speaking up about a California law that limits cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Some sheriffs are saying they are committed to working with ICE, to the fullest extent allowed by state law, regarding illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes in their counties.

“I don’t want another Laken Riley to happen,” Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman told The Epoch Times, referring to a young woman who was murdered by an illegal immigrant in Georgia. “I don’t want to be the one, on my watch, where I release somebody and they go out and commit another heinous crime or murder somebody when I had the absolute opportunity to stop that.”

Current state law restricts local officials from communicating with ICE, with limited exceptions. California Senate Bill 54, also known as the California Values Act, was passed in 2017 and also prohibits local law enforcement agencies from using “money or personnel to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, or arrest persons for immigration enforcement purposes.”

The law allows local authorities to notify ICE only in situations where the person arrested has been convicted of a serious or violent felony, including theft, assault, sexual abuse, crimes endangering children, murder, torture, and mayhem, among a few others.

“My job as sheriff is very clear. I provide public safety,” Redman said.

He said immigration enforcement is strictly carried out at the federal level.

“That’s not my job,” he said. “My job is purely public safety here in Amador County.”

He says he just wants more flexibility in contacting ICE when convicted criminals are released from jail, noting that the U.S. Border Patrol has arrested terrorists who have illegally entered the country at the southern border.

According to an August 2024 congressional report from the House Judiciary Committee, among the “more than 7.3 million illegal aliens are 375 illegal aliens on the U.S. government’s terrorist watchlist who have been apprehended by Border Patrol” under the previous administration.

“If faced with having to release what I believe is a public safety risk or violent felon back into the community—who is here illegally—I’m going to use every tool at my disposal,” Redman said. “I’m not going to release that person without getting hold of ICE and turning them over to ICE.”

While he has not faced any cases involving violent criminals, one situation came to mind in which he said such a person would pose a public safety risk if released from jail.

Last year a group of people from the San Joaquin-Stockton area stole copper wire from phone lines and caused a “huge public safety impact,” according to Redman. Before a suspect was arrested, Redman’s county was hit twice with downed internet and dropped 911 calls.

“That’s one of those cases where I’m taking a hard look if they are eligible, or when they do get released—although convicted of some stuff that doesn’t fall within the categories that are allowed under SB 54—that I may be contacting ICE,” he said. “I have no doubt that if I do, I will be hearing probably from the Attorney General and probably from the ACLU office.”

However, he said that 99 percent of the time law enforcement is following SB 54.

His county of roughly 41,000 residents is located east of Sacramento and has a jail that can hold about 75 inmates. In comparison, Sacramento County’s main jail has a capacity of more than 2,000.

Two sheriffs in Southern California have taken a similar stance.

Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said California law hinders officers’ ability to communicate with “federal law enforcement partners on shared threats posed by criminal offenders” who have violated immigration law.

“I have chosen to cooperate with ICE to the fullest extent provided by the law in order to prevent serious offenders from returning to the communities they have preyed upon,” Barnes wrote in a Facebook post.

Similarly, San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez said her office will continue to notify ICE of individuals with criminal convictions in accordance with existing state law.

“I have been committed to balancing the requirements of state law with the Sheriff’s Office policies and procedures, which have incorporated input from community and immigration advocates,” Martinez said in a statement.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors passed a policy in December 2024 that expands on SB 54. Whereas state law provides exceptions for local cooperation with ICE, the county-level policy eliminates the exceptions entirely.

Martinez along with County Supervisor Jim Desmond have been critical of the new policy.

Meanwhile, the debate surrounding immigration enforcement and local cooperation continues among state lawmakers.

Last month, the Legislature introduced SB 554, a law that seeks to prevent local jurisdictions from adopting illegal immigrant sanctuary measures that are stronger than current state law. It would also mandate local law enforcement to contact ICE regarding certain convicted violent criminals.