Sonoma County activists speak out after ICE arrest at probation department
Community activists are speaking out and against an arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Sonoma County Probation Department last week.
"These are folks that are trying to get their life back, support their families, maintain unity with families and this just further instilled fear in our community," Isabel Lopez, the executive director of Raizes Collective, told CBS News Bay Area.
The nonprofit community-based organization helps mobilize communities through art, culture and leadership development.
Sonoma County officials said last Thursday a plain-clothed ICE agent entered the probation department and detained a person who was just released from the Sonoma County Jail. Officials added that the person was reporting to the probation officers with a court order before ICE came in and arrested them.
"When there's ICE presence in a county building, especially when it's court ordered to be somewhere, that's going to create fear. That's going to create a lack of trust, and otherwise abiding citizens who want to follow court orders are not going to follow the court orders," Bernice Espinoza, a removal defense attorney with Sonoma Immigrant Services, told CBS News Bay Area.
"Our communities are less safe when ICE is present because then people are not getting the services that they need to re-enter society," she added.
Sonoma County leaders said Thursday's ICE arrest is the only known public incident in a county lobby.
"This is an unfair punishment that someone who was born in the United States wouldn't have to face," Espinoza said.
The Sonoma County Chief Probation Officer, Vanessa Fuchs, released a statement below.
"This detention was unexpected by our staff and likely very unsettling for others in our lobby who witnessed it. The agent did not identify himself, though it appears that he had insignia around his neck, and it wasn't immediately clear what was happening at the time. We want to make clear that Probation was not involved in coordinating this incident in any way. Probation is focused on public safety and the rehabilitation of clients. Our mission is to protect the community as a whole," Fuchs said.
Lopez said this is one of the many reasons why she and her team have been fighting for the board of supervisors to adopt Sonoma County as a sanctuary county.
"For example, sheriffs. We do not want them sharing any information with ICE. So, it's a law to prevent them from sharing any information and having them come into these offices," Lopez said.
The county, however, released this statement, saying, "The incident with ICE was in compliance with SB54, the California Values Act, which prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from using their resources to investigate, interrogate, detain, or arrest individuals for immigration enforcement purposes."
For activists like Lopez, however, she says ICE presence only worsens the feeling of security in the community.
"Our immigration communities are not going to want to report any crimes, especially as they heighten with this new administration and the racism and hate against the immigrant community," she said.
"We are hearing that there's heightened sense of fear of ICE coming into the school places and their parents being apprehended by ICE. So, they're really focused on pushing their school administrations for pushing for sanctuary schools," she added.
Meanwhile, county leaders said they are working with employees by providing them with more information on how to navigate a situation should they encounter an ICE agent in county workspaces.
