A Northern California sheriff said he is ready to break state law by contacting federal immigration authorities if his deputies arrest illegal immigrants for violent crimes.
Doing so would put Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman on “shaky legal ground” by being at odds with the state’s 2017 sanctuary law that prohibits police from participating in immigration enforcement.
California lawmakers passed the state’s sanctuary law during President Donald Trump’s first term. The law does make allowances for certain violent criminals and does allow authorities to contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials if someone is in the country illegally after the person has been convicted, served their sentence, and is about to be released.
A spokesperson for Redman’s office told the Washington Examiner on Friday that if his officers become aware that a person is in the country illegally and poses a serious threat, he will notify ICE officials to facilitate their removal. The sheriff, separately, emphasized that residents and visitors “deserve to feel safe” in Amadors County, “including law-abiding migrants who post no threat.”
The spokesperson added that recent actions by the state legislature and aggressive moves by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Democratic state Attorney General Rob Bonta have put him in a tricky spot. Redman said the passage of SB 54, known as the “California Values Act,” which limits the use of state and local resources in immigration enforcement, puts him in violation of federal law.
“I want to be perfectly clear: My deputies will not be conducting immigration roundups or enforcing federal immigration law,” Redman said. “This approach is strictly reserved for the most dangerous offenders — those who pose a direct threat to the community I was elected to serve and protect. In good conscience, I cannot tarnish my badge by allowing violent offenders to be released back into the community to prey on the innocent.
“The actions taken by state legislators, the state attorney general, and governor are unconscionable. No matter the cost, I will uphold my oath.”
Redman joked to the Sacramento Bee that he’s “sure the ACLU is going to love me on this one.”
Maria Romani, the director of the Immigrants’ Rights Program at the ACLU of Northern California, was, indeed, not a fan of his remarks and said his public statements “don’t inspire safety, don’t inspire trust in his office among the immigrant community.”
“If he does violate the law, I hope the attorney general’s office takes a close look,” she added.
Immigration attorney Julian Sanchez Mora also took issue with Redman’s stance, telling ABC 10 that it was concerning and possibly illegal, depending on how far Redman would go to work with federal immigration enforcement.
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California’s sanctuary state law “prohibits local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with ICE or immigration enforcement, with certain exceptions,” Mora said. “Under SB 54, law enforcement agencies are not allowed to ask about immigration status.”
Calls to the California attorney general’s office by the Washington Examiner were not returned, though officials have said in the past that they would be “closely monitoring law enforcement compliance with SB 54.”
