What's at stake?
Immigration advocates have criticized the cooperation between ICE and local law enforcement and questioned the accuracy of data released in prior years.
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors will hold a public meeting later this month to discuss local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The hearing, formally known as a “Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds (TRUTH) Act forum,” is a federally required public meeting to inform the community about local cooperation with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The public is expected to be able to provide comments and feedback.
Part of the May 21 Board of Supervisors meeting will be reserved for the TRUTH Act forum, in which the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office will give their report on their work with ICE in 2023.
“As part of the forum, the local law enforcement agency may provide the governing body with data it maintains regarding the number and demographic characteristics of individuals the agency has provided ICE access, the date ICE access was provided, and whether the ICE access was provided through a hold, transfer, notification request, or through another means,” wrote Sonja Dosti, the communications director for the County Administrative Office.
The TRUTH Act, otherwise known as Assembly Bill 2792, gives United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) access to individuals in law enforcement custody but makes any documents related to said access publicly available.
These required meetings also mandate that local law enforcement agencies that have collaborated with ICE provide yearly reports on their policies and collaboration with ICE. The report is to be presented and made publicly available at the forum.
The act also prohibits police departments and security from providing ICE access to any individual if the department belongs to a California State University, community college, school and school district.
Immigration advocates have criticized the cooperation between ICE and local law enforcement and questioned the accuracy of data released in prior years. A 2018 Fresno Bee investigation revealed that while the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office reported just four inmate transfers to ICE, the federal agency’s own records showed more than 100 arrests had been made by ICE inside the Fresno jail.
In 2022, the ACLU of Northern California released a report that described “collusion” between ICE and Central Valley law enforcement and said “certain sheriffs and local law enforcement agencies” had “circumvented these laws and undermined the protections envisioned for California immigrants.”
The forum will take place at 9:30 a.m. May 21 in the Hall of Records in downtown Fresno. Board of Supervisors meetings take place on the third floor of the Hall of Records.
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