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A Statement from Supervisor Coursey regarding cooperation with ICE
ICE, the enforcement arm of the federal Department of Homeland Security, has lost the trust of the American people. It should no longer be considered a legitimate law enforcement organization, as it has been transformed by President Trump into an occupying force used to punish communities he sees as insufficiently compliant with his crackdown on immigrants — including immigrants who have become American citizens or are otherwise living here legally.
Today is the first anniversary of Trump’s second inauguration. It’s been a year that none of us could have imagined — a daily deluge of chaos, cruelty, conniving and corruption. It’s honestly frightening to me as I contemplate three more years of this.
Today I observe this anniversary by saying, “Enough.”
I haven’t been shy about expressing my opposition and anger to many of the policies of this administration, its reckless disregard for laws and norms, foreign relations that alienate and endanger the world, all of it enabled by a subservient Republican Congress and supine Supreme Court. I don’t intend to recreate the full catalogue here; it’s oh, so familiar by now.
What I do want to address is an issue I haven’t talked about much: The cooperative relationship with ICE of our Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department, specifically in regard to undocumented inmates at the county jail. To be clear: I make this statement for myself.
The Sheriff’s Office, which runs the jail, has a policy to respond to ICE when federal agents request information about undocumented inmates. While California law precludes local officials from helping to enforce federal immigration laws, this practice by our Sheriff’s Office falls under an exception when ICE is seeking information about inmates who have been convicted of certain crimes deemed “serious or violent felonies.”
This often results in inmates being grabbed by ICE just as they leave the jail, whether they are on their way home after serving their time or when being transferred to another facility, such as state prison. Either way, in ICE custody, they face deportation.
I have supported our Sheriff’s policy to honor these requests from ICE. After all, these are convicted criminals who have shown — sometimes repeatedly — that they are a danger to our community. I believed that ICE played a part in protecting our community.
I can no longer believe that. I can no longer support it. I see with my own eyes, on a daily basis, how ICE makes communities more dangerous across our country. Under President Trump, ICE is now used as an armed force to bring “RECKONING AND RETRIBUTION” (the president’s words) to communities that for whatever reason fall out of his favor. That’s not law enforcement. That’s a dictator at work. ICE presence in communities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis causes fear, tension and anger, and it’s clear that is exactly what is intended. It also results in people being arrested, roughed up, maimed by “less lethal” ammunition and, tragically, killed — often for the “crime” of exercising their Constitutional right to criticize their government.
I know this has not happened here. But that is no protection for our community. Trump now is threatening to escalate the tensions by sending troops into our cities. This is not the America I know, and it’s not the America I want for my grandchildren.
I say, “Enough.” Sonoma County should end our cooperation with ICE.
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