Local
ICE agents’ presence at Elmwood jail prompts questions about county policy
Immigration agents were seen inside and outside Milpitas’ Elmwood Correctional Facility, alarming community advocates who fear people may be taken into custody as they leave jail. The sheriff’s office says agents made no arrests there Thursday and that the county does not coordinate with ICE or share release dates.
Armed federal immigration agents were seen inside and outside Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas, prompting community advocates to question why they were at the jail and whether the activity conflicts with Santa Clara County’s civil immigration policy.
Cellphone video showed agents at the facility. Advocates with Silicon Valley De-Bug and the Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network were also there, monitoring the situation.
Raj Jayadev of Silicon Valley De-Bug said the presence felt like an escalation, though advocates did not know whether it signaled a larger operation. He said the groups were concerned ICE might be waiting for people to be released from custody. Jayadev said advocates have previously known people who left jail but did not make it home because ICE was waiting to take them into custody.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said ICE agents made no arrests or detentions at the facility Thursday. It said the agents stayed in areas open to the public, jail operations continued as usual and no incidents were reported.
The county’s civil immigration policy generally bars county employees from assisting federal civil immigration enforcement, including by sharing release dates. The sheriff’s office said it does not coordinate with ICE, provide release information or have advance knowledge of the agency’s operations.
However, the policy does not prevent federal agents from waiting in public areas inside or outside the jail. The sheriff’s office said ICE has periodically visited the jail lobby for more than a year and has taken 60 people into custody who were scheduled for release.
Narely Campos of Silicon Valley De-Bug said advocates want to ensure county sheriffs are not participating in ICE operations.