Committee presses sheriff's office over ICE detainee conditions; officials dispute report allegations

A non-agenda discussion at the April 22 Orange County Public Safety Committee session focused on public questions about the county jail and the ICE contract. Chairman Matthew Fascaldi said the calls and emails he had received prompted the committee to seek clarification on who is detained in the ICE Unit and under whose authority. Undersheriff Evelyn Mallard replied that "the authority is the Department of Homeland Security" and that those in the ICE Unit are civil detainees who are also charged with crimes; she later said "a lot of the allegations that were raised are false" and described the circulating report as "generic and nonspecific to investigate."

Committee members asked for procedural detail and for steps taken to review the report. Undersheriff Mallard summarized intake and grievance procedures and invited any legislator who has not toured the jail to do so. Colonel Lawrence Catletti and Undersheriff Mallard noted corrections statistics presented earlier: March headcount 384, average daily boarder count 136 and monthly boarder revenue $985,590; Mallard said about 99% of individuals coming into the ICE Unit have penal-law charges. Legislator Genesis Ramos said she had not seen alarming physical conditions during her tours and emphasized that community concerns appear centered on treatment and interactions rather than facility conditions.