{"id":204829,"date":"2026-03-05T01:54:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T01:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/204829\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T01:54:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T01:54:10","slug":"46-people-so-far-detained-by-ice-outside-santa-clara-county-jail-sparking-protests-the-mercury-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/204829\/","title":{"rendered":"46 people so far detained by ICE outside Santa Clara County jail, sparking protests \u2013 The Mercury News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have detained at least 46 people outside Santa Clara County\u2019s main jail since June 2025, exploiting publicly posted release lists to make arrests in a county that otherwise bars cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, officials say.<\/p>\n

About 80 protesters gathered Wednesday outside the Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas, accusing county officials of allowing the practice to continue despite sanctuary policies intended to shield immigrant communities.<\/p>\n

One woman described watching the situation unfold firsthand while waiting for a family member\u2019s release.<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People gather to protest ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"Rivian<\/p>\n

Rivian vehicles are displayed at the newly-opened location in Milpitas in Feb 2026 (Courtesy City of Milpitas)<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People embrace while protesting ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People gather to protest ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A person holds a sign while protesting ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People gather to protest ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People gather to protest ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People gather to protest ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People gather to protest ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People gather to protest ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People gather to protest ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 11<\/p>\n

People gather to protest ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

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The woman said she has been waiting at the jail when two white vans pulled up. At first she didn\u2019t think anything of them. Then she watched as her relative walked out of the jail and was detained by ICE agents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was shocked and very emotional at what I just witnessed,\u201d said the woman, whose written statement was read at the rally and whose name organizers withheld for safety reasons. \u201cA sheriff walked out to meet me and asked why I was crying. I asked the sheriff what had happened, but they said they didn\u2019t know what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rally was organized by South Bay civil rights group Silicon Valley Debug and featured speakers from several organizations.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe came here expecting to pick up her loved one,\u201d said Jamilah Rosales-Webb, an organizer with Debug. \u201cShe was lied to, thinking that Santa Clara had agreed not to cooperate with ICE, but they lied, just like they always do, and she had to witness her loved one being arrested again from our land.\u201d<\/p>\n

Santa Clara County has adopted sanctuary policies that bar local law enforcement<\/a> from assisting with federal immigration enforcement and established \u201cICE-free\u201d zones on county-owned properties in December<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But ICE agents have been able to\u00a0locate people leaving the jail by reviewing publicly available inmate release lists<\/a> and waiting outside the facility for those individuals to walk free.<\/p>\n

In 2019, Santa Clara County reaffirmed its policy not to notify ICE of inmate<\/a> release times after staff said the county could not independently verify immigration status and cited past instances in which U.S. citizens were arrested.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they\u2019re doing right now is looking the other way,\u201d said Xavier Espana, an organizer with Debug.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just another showing of how the criminal justice system leads to deportation,\u201d added Alicia Chavez, another Debug organizer.<\/p>\n

Protesters held up 46 posters \u2014 one for each person detained by ICE outside Elmwood since June 2025 \u2014 with messages reading \u201cmissing\u201d and \u201ckidnapped by ICE.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Santa Clara County Sheriff\u2019s Office said it does not coordinate with ICE and has no control over what happens once inmates leave custody.<\/p>\n

Brooks Jarosz, a senior information officer for the Sheriff\u2019s Office, said anyone from the public can enter the jail\u2019s lobby, which is open 24 hours a day, and that a list of inmates scheduled for release is posted for public viewing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we found is ICE is coming, checking that list and waiting around sometimes hours until that person is released,\u201d Jarosz said.<\/p>\n

Once someone leaves custody, he said, \u201cthey are free members of the public, and so we have no control of what happens beyond that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People gather to protest ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People gather to protest ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"ICE<\/p>\n

ICE is protested at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A person waves a flag that says \u201cprotect the people\u201d while protesting ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A person holds a sign while protesting ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People embrace while protesting ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 6<\/p>\n

People gather to protest ICE at Elmwood Jail in Milpitas, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Organizations have tracked ICE taking into custody 46 people immediately upon their release from jail over the past six months. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Jarosz added that the Sheriff\u2019s Office cannot legally obstruct another law enforcement agency from carrying out its duties.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be a violation of the constitution of California and of the U.S.,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But some community leaders dispute that explanation.<\/p>\n

Sean Allen, president of the NAACP of San Jose and Silicon Valley and a former law enforcement officer, said the sheriff has the authority to decide who can access jail property.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is it they pick up 46 people if they don\u2019t know what time they\u2019re getting out?\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n

He added that the Board of Supervisors may need to strengthen its policies restricting immigration enforcement on county property.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to specify that ordinance to say ICE cannot come onto jail property or court property to pick up our folks,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n

The arrests have sparked fear among families of immigrants incarcerated at Elmwood.<\/p>\n

Another woman, whose brother is incarcerated at Elmwood, said in a written statement read by protest organizers that the uncertainty surrounding his eventual release weighs heavily on her family. Her name was withheld for safety reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery single day, my family wakes up knowing that my older brother is inside Elmwood Correctional Facility, and with that comes constant fear,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing that your loved one could be picked up by ICE after serving their time is a different kind of heartbreak. It feels like a second punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have detained at least 46 people outside Santa Clara County\u2019s main jail since…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204830,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[184,7,138,2871,14,14367,181,191,100,88,90,89,198,14369,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-204829","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-bay-area","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-crime-and-public-safety","11":"tag-ice","12":"tag-immigration","13":"tag-jail","14":"tag-latest-headlines","15":"tag-milpitas","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-san-jose","18":"tag-san-jose-headlines","19":"tag-san-jose-news","20":"tag-santa-clara-county","21":"tag-santa-clara-county-sheriff","22":"tag-south-bay"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}