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Residents press San Diego sheriff to stop ICE transfers and publish monthly data after 2025 surge
Summary
At a Truth Act forum, Sheriff Martinez defended the department’s authority to share release dates and process federal judicial warrants, saying transfers in a jail setting are safer; immigrant advocates demanded an immediate halt to transfers, monthly public reporting and stronger compliance with county policy and state law.
The San Diego County Truth Act community forum on March 24 focused on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) access to people in county custody and an apparent increase in transfers to federal custody.
Sheriff Kelly Martinez opened the forum by summarizing the legal framework (the 2014 Trust Act, the 2017 Truth Act transparency provisions and the California Values Act/SB54) and by describing her office’s procedures. She told the board the sheriff’s office does not ask people about immigration status, does not detain on ICE hold requests, and does not participate in immigration raids or checkpoints. She said the sheriff’s office will share a release date or notification only for individuals who meet the statutory SB54 qualifying criminal exceptions or if an individual is the subject of a federal judicial warrant signed by a judge.
Sheriff Martinez reported that in 2025 the sheriff’s office recorded 83 transfers to ICE custody; she said 53 of those transfers were supported by federal judicial warrants and 30 met state qualifying‑conviction criteria. She said the department received 82 release‑notification requests in 2025 and that the jail population management unit vets requests to ensure state law criteria are met. Martinez said the department will begin quarterly public reporting of notifications and transfers (staff stated quarterly reports will start in August 2026) and agreed to provide detailed written answers to many pre‑submitted community questions.
Community response: Dozens of legal services providers, advocacy groups, faith leaders and residents urged the sheriff and the board to end county collaboration with ICE, citing fear in immigrant communities, cases of deportations without apparent due process, and concerns about transfers that lack judicial warrants. Organizers and legal advocates asked for monthly public data posting of interviews, notifications and transfers; they also pressed for an accounting of county staff time and public resources used to support ICE notifications and transfers.
Some public commenters favored continued cooperation for convicted violent offenders; the meeting recorded a wide range of viewpoints, but the dominant sentiment from community organizations was that county cooperation with ICE should stop and that the sheriff should publish more timely, detailed transfer and notification data.
Board follow‑up: Supervisors asked the sheriff for additional written clarifications and a cost accounting of staff time spent processing ICE notifications; Sheriff Martinez agreed to provide written responses and to post data and answers to outstanding questions. Several supervisors urged monthly reporting and asked staff to explore whether the county can reduce community fear while meeting legal obligations.
Why it matters: Advocates argued the 2025 rise in transfers damaged public trust and reduced community willingness to call law enforcement — an outcome they say undermines public safety. The sheriff’s office argued that transfers conducted in a controlled jail setting reduce collateral harm. The board and sheriff will now collect the outstanding written answers and the sheriff said the department will publish quarterly data beginning August 2026.
