Immigrant rights activists rally in Contra Costa County over ICE cooperation
Immigrant rights activists rally in Contra Costa County
Immigrant rights activists rally in Contra Costa County.
MARTINEZ, Calif. - Immigrant rights activists took a stand against heightened immigration enforcement activity in Contra Costa County on Tuesday, demanding county leaders create a specific policy about not cooperating with ICE.
The group, Indivisible Resisters Contra Costa, rallied outside the county administration building in Martinez ahead of a board of supervisors meeting.
Group members said they're upset with Sheriff David Livingston's effort to "double down" on what they say is "collaboration with ICE."
"We as Contra Costa county community members are here today to call upon the Contra Costa board of supervisors to adopt a non-cooperation countywide ordinance that will ensure that federal agents are not using county resources, time and money to allow the sheriff's department's continual unnecessary and harmful practices of cooperating with ICE," said Jennifer Morales, a community organizing manager for Monument Impact.
At the supervisors' meeting, Livingston presented his department's oversight report, showing that so far this year, his office received nearly 300 ICE notification requests, and he has responded to 55 in compliance with state law. In 2024, the sheriff's office received 578 requests from ICE and complied with 132 of them.
In a previous heated exchange with Supervisor Ken Carlson over turning convicted criminals over to ICE, Livingston said: "I'll just say as sheriff it astounds me that people would actually advocate for the release of sex offenders, rapists, murderers, burglars."
The supervisors have so far rejected the call from some community members to make the county a "sanctuary" from immigration enforcement.
Board Chair Candace Andersen feared that such a designation could make the Trump administration mad, and that would ultimately hurt immigrants, the East Bay Times reported.
"My big concern, I will continue to articulate," said Andersen, "is I do not want to have a target put on our backs and have benefits stripped from the very immigrants we’re trying to protect."