On this week’s podcast, we had San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez. We talked about the federal government’s recent focus on immigration enforcement and threats to people like her that if they don’t help, they could themselves be in trouble. We also discussed safety and deaths in jails.
But she revealed her struggle with the two forces she’s facing: One her need to reassure people in her jurisdiction that they can trust her and her deputies if they are victims or witnesses to crime. And two, the threats and pressure from the federal government to assist them as they work to remove people who immigrated or stayed here without authorization.
On the December sanctuary policy: She helped clarify what exactly the controversy was in December when the Board of Supervisors passed a policy demanding she not cooperate with federal immigration agents. State law already prohibits many forms of cooperation. But as she clarified, if a person has been convicted of one on a list of serious crimes, immigration enforcement officials can ask the sheriff for their release date and get it.
In 2023, ICE asked for the release dates of 183 individuals and actually picked up 25 of them.
The Board of Supervisors’ policy in December would have prohibited even that sharing of information. She said she refused to comply because her interpretation of state law and case law puts her, as sheriff, in charge of jails.
“I was concerned that it would create more problems if people believed that the sheriff would not comply, or it’s not even compliant. It’s what’s permissible under state law. I believe that what’s permissible is the right balance between immigration law and what I can and cannot communicate with ICE over,” she told us.
Her message to immigrants: “Sheriff’s deputies are not Border Patrol. We are not ICE agents. We will never ask immigration status of individuals that we contact. It’s absolutely imperative to me that people in our communities, no matter what your status, you feel comfortable if you’ve been the victim of a crime, reporting to a deputy, seeking help from law enforcement of sheriff’s deputies in particular,” she said.
But it’s not just Trump: “The community members in these migrant communities that I serve have asked me to continue the practice we have. They’ve been afraid to come to the board meetings to speak their mind because some of the rhetoric has been so vocal and contentious in those meetings. They’re already concerned because of their immigration status. And so I truly believe that the communities that these individuals would be returning to do not want them to return. And in addition to that, federal law enforcement agency has an interest in these individuals. And I think to restrict their ability to do their jobs is also problematic.”
You can listen to the full podcast including our conversation about jail safety and new harsher sentences and their impacts, click here.
Voice of San Diego intern Alina Ajaz contributed to this post.