A California sheriff has been hit with a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union after he allegedly violated state law by turning inmates over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Sacramento resident Misael Echeveste and two nonprofit organizations, Norcal Resist and United Latinos, are seeking compliance from Sheriff Scott Jones in accordance with Senate Bill 54 and the TRUTH Act, as well as monetary compensation from Jones in the form of attorneys fees and other court costs. The plaintiffs are also seeking an injunction from the California superior court against the defendants to ensure that violations against SB 54 and the TRUTH Act don’t happen again, according to the lawsuit filed Monday by the ACLU.
“Jones has long championed cooperation with ICE and fiercely opposed SB 54 and similar laws,” the lawsuit says, alleging Jones and his office went around the legislation in order to notify ICE of the release of inmates and to transfer the inmates into the custody of immigration officials.
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Included in the lawsuit are emails among officials from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, including one where an official “contacted an ICE agent to advise” that one inmate was not eligible for release under SB 54 and would be released the next morning.
The lawsuit alleges that as a result of the violations, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office “has violated and continues to violate SB 54,” adding that as a result of the infringements, inmates who have already finished their sentences are now “being locked up by ICE rather than going home to their families and communities.”
“Sheriff Jones fiercely opposed the Legislature’s actions to protect immigrant communities and celebrate SCSO’s cooperation with ICE,” according to the lawsuit. “For example, during congressional testimony in 2015, Sheriff Jones bemoaned state and local efforts to limit cooperation with ICE.”
Under SB 54, which was signed into effect on Oct. 5, 2016, state and local law enforcement agencies are prohibited from “using money or personnel” to assist federal immigration agencies in the enforcement of federal immigration policies.
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The United States is contending with a large surge of migrants passing through the nation’s southern border, according to data released by Customs and Border Protection. Officials experienced 192,001 encounters along the southern border in the month of September, a decrease from the record highs of above 200,000 in the months of July and August but still a large increase compared to months past, according to a report by the agency.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Sheriff Scott Jones for a comment but did not receive a response back.
