BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 Advocates and community members gathered at Tuesday’s Kern County Board of Supervisors meeting to learn how much the county cooperates with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n
The meeting was part of the annual Truth Act Forum, a California law that requires local law enforcement agencies to be transparent with the community about their cooperation with ICE.<\/p>\n
“We are not involved in the enforcement of immigration law, deportations or immigration sweeps; with that being said, the sheriff’s office does cooperate with ICE as allowed by law,” Chief Deputy for KCSO Joel Swanson said.<\/p>\n
The Sheriff’s Office explained how it responds when ICE asks to be notified about someone being released from county custody.<\/p>\n
“In 2025, a total of 29,369 individuals were booked into the Kern County Sheriff’s Office jails,” Swanson said. “During this time, ICE submitted 273 requests for notification of release.”<\/p>\n
A notification release asks the Sheriff’s Office to alert ICE when someone is scheduled for release from custody.<\/p>\n
Of those 273 requests, 14 were duplicates, and 13 could not be processed, leaving 246 valid requests. Those requests accounted for less than 1% of all jail bookings, about 0.84%.<\/p>\n
Swanson also reported that 31 people were transferred from county jails to ICE custody in 2025, a sharp increase from 2024, when there were only 19 notification requests and 2 transfers.<\/p>\n
During public comment, several community members voiced concerns about local law enforcement’s role in immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n
“There’s no requirement for collaboration between ICE and local law enforcement; we can do better,” one speaker said.<\/p>\n
“As a part of this county, I am ashamed that we are complicit in supporting immigration,” another said.<\/p>\n
“We ask that we limit and stop this collaboration between local law enforcement and ICE because public safety only works when everyone in the community feels safe calling for help,” a third speaker said.<\/p>\n
Mayra Joachin, senior staff attorney at the ACLU, said there should be no cooperation between the two agencies.<\/p>\n
“Protecting those residents means not collaborating with immigration enforcement; there are separate federal funds for that. Kern County should use its funds and resources to protect the well-being of its community,” Joachin said.<\/p>\n
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