On Tuesday, August 20, the Kern County Board of Supervisors held their annual TRUTH Act Community Forum with a presentation by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office [KCSO] to share with the public information about Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s [ICE] access to individuals in Kern County in 2023. Following KCSO’s presentation, Oliver Ma, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] made a statement then comments from the public.
Kern County Supervisor Jeff Flores (District 3), Chairman David Couch (District 4), and Supervisor Leticia Perez (District 5) were in attendance.
The TRUTH Act is a state law that requires lawmakers to hold the TRUTH Act forum yearly to establish transparency and reduce the collaborative actions between ICE and local law enforcement.
KCSO said in 2023, over 26,200 individuals were booked into the Sheriff’s Office jails and ICE requested information on five individuals, all were hispanic men around 33 years old. Which is the same percentage rate as of 2022. The median time spent in jail between the five individuals was 193 days.
“Of those five, only one was transferred to ICE from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. I should note the request was actually made in 2022, but the transfer occurred in 2023,” said KCSO Chief Deputy Katie Rivera.
According to the presentation, KSCO does not:
- Hold inmates past the date of their release or delay their release
- Ask about individuals’ immigration status or provide ICE access to KCSO databases
- Enforce federal immigration law or deport individuals
- Participate in immigration sweeps
The presentation also stated that the KSCO does:
- Cooperate with ICE within the law to protect public safety
- Make release notifications if there are qualifying charges, as allowed by Government Code 7282.5(a)
- Notify inmates that ICE has requested notification of their release
- Notify inmates of their rights regarding ICE interviews and release notifications
“As we mentioned before, KCSO does not place any hold for immigration authorities. Inmates who have a release of notification form are released without delay if the ICE agent is not present. If the ICE agent is present, they can arrest or be arrested. Once the inmate’s release is processed. KCSO policy strictly prohibits any kind of hold for immigration authorities or agents and does not permit any staff member to accept a hold request,” said Rivera.
KCSO also said that the Sheriff’s Office is not involved in arrests ICE makes in the community and ICE does not have access to Sheriff’s Office computers and databases.
After KCSO’s presentation ACLU attorney Oliver Ma, asked officials to shut down the two Immigration Customs Enforcement detention facilities in Kern County, that are located in Bakersfield and McFarland.
Ma said the individuals at these ICE detention facilities are not being punished for a crime. “They are simply waiting for their immigration cases to play out. But during that time, they’re not allowed to leave from immigration detention,” Ma said.
“There is currently a hunger strike and a labor strike within those two detention facilities. Both of which are incurrent. Some people have been going without food for 20 days. And in retaliation for that, people are often put into solitary confinement. So that they stop with their strikes” Ma contuined. “These are people who are part of our communities and they really shouldn’t be subject to conditions that are this horrible, where they’re working for a dollar a day, they can’t get in touch with their family.”
According to Ma, these are the community ask:
- 20% of Kern residents are immigrants
- 43% of children in Kern have at least one immigrant parent
- More than 50% of Kern residents have an immigrant family member
- Shut down Golden State Annex and Mesa Verde
- Hire a Pailla counsel so immigrants are adequately advised about immigration consequences before entering a plea, as required by the landmark Supreme Court decision, Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010)
“We all know the long political history in Kern, and although we are making small changes, We have yet to stand up and do something to protect our immigrant community,” said community member Rosa Lopez.
