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Sheriff: Monterey County jail released 11 people to ICE in 2024; board asks for more detail and policy documents
Summary
Chief Deputy Tim Lanquist told the Board of Supervisors the jail released 11 incarcerated people into ICE custody in 2024 for qualifying charges. The board voted 5-0 to request further documentation and a fuller accounting of communications with ICE, and to amend agenda titles for future transparency.
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office told the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 28 that, under California law, the jail released 11 incarcerated people into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody during calendar year 2024. Chief Deputy Tim Lanquist, presenting the department’s annual Truth and Values Act report, listed the qualifying charges that led to those transfers.
Lanquist said the releases were either of convicted people or of people “held to answer” by a judge. He told the board, “For the 2024 calendar year, the Monterey County Jail released 11 incarcerated persons into ICE custody,” and read the qualifying penal code and vehicle/health-and-safety sections that applied to those cases.
Board members and public commenters pressed for more transparency about the timing and circumstances of transfers, whether ICE had received advance advisements about release dates and whether the jail’s internal policy and communications with ICE were posted. Public commenters, including a representative of the ACLU’s Monterey County affiliate, urged the board and the sheriff to end cooperation with ICE.
The board voted 5-0 on a motion requesting multiple follow-ups: (1) amend the Legistar agenda title to include “Truth Act” and “SB 54” for easier public searchability; (2) return with the sheriff’s custody policy that governs ICE interactions; (3) provide details of all communications with ICE in the prior year; and (4) provide case-level information about each person referenced in the report, including remand dates, conviction dates (if any), how ICE access was provided, date access was given and length of stay in county custody. County counsel confirmed that the sheriff is an independently elected officer but that the board can request these reports for public transparency.
Chief Deputy Lanquist and Undersheriff Keith Boyd said the department adheres to state law, including the Truth Act and SB 54 (the California Values Act), and that some data could be posted on the sheriff’s website pending internal review. The board’s motion passed 5-0.
