Creating Safe Communities for Immigrants

Santa Clara County, CA

Population:1,000,000-5,000,000 | Government type: County | Topic: Sanctuary Protections

Photo: Members of Showing Up for Racial Justice attend Santa Clara County meeting in support of sanctuary policy

The POLICY

In 2011, Santa Clara County, CA created one of the first sanctuary policies limiting collaboration between the local government and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  Despite a number of political attacks and legal challenges, it remains one of the strongest sanctuary policies in the country today.  

Santa Clara County has a very large and diverse immigrant population and, prior to the 2011 ordinance, it was the central locus of deportations from Northern California. The ordinance prohibits compliance with ICE officers (the practice of transferring someone to ICE directly from local custody), which is the most impactful element of a sanctuary policy.  Beyond this, Santa Clara County does not allow ICE into jails, does not share inmate information with ICE, and does not cooperate with ICE in any other way.  When localities collaborate with federal immigration enforcement authorities, immigrant communities suffer in all aspects of life.  Not only are there more deportations and more families torn apart, but people are more afraid to take their kids to school, to seek medical treatment, to apply for public benefits for which they’re eligible, and to access other public services. As a result, quality of life suffers, and basic needs are not met. Immigrants are part of the social and economic fabric of every community.  If they are unable to live and thrive without fear of deportation, it severely hinders the entire community’s ability to grow and flourish as a whole.

Collaborative Governance

Santa Clara County’s sanctuary ordinance was driven and upheld by strong community organizing that represented criminal justice, racial justice, and immigrant rights groups. This same coalition has continued to work together even after the legislation’s passage, defeating multiple attacks on the policy over the last decade. In 2019, the policy was called into question in the wake of a terrible crime, but a show of incredible support from community advocates was crucial to keeping the policy in place. Hundreds of Santa Clara County residents came to testify to the importance of the immigrant community in the county, the value of treating all residents equally, the unfairness and double punishment of the immigration enforcement system, and the need for the Board of Supervisors to stand with immigrants rather than working with ICE. The Board of Supervisors opted instead to maintain and strengthen the policy by codifying their practice of honoring only judicial warrants.

Emphasis on equity

Immigration is ostensibly a branch of civil administrative law, but it is enforced like all other forms of policing: by targeting and denigrating Black people and communities of color, and by surveilling, shackling, imprisoning, and abusing people with impunity. Until immigration law is reimagined, it will remain a fundamentally unfair, racist, and punitive system. In the face of this, local governments should disengage and shield themselves from immigration enforcement. Santa Clara County has cleaved any immigration enforcement from local government or law enforcement operations, thereby preventing racial profiling and discrimination based on perceived immigration status. 

The criminal legal system has systemically oppressed Black people, communities of color, and poor people since its inception, and the federal deportation system has built directly off of that.  Approximately 70 percent of ICE arrests are a direct result of individuals’ contact with local law enforcement (e.g. any interaction that results in fingerprints being taken).  The federal deportation machine has been built upon co-opting local resources for federal immigration enforcement. Local sanctuary policies like Santa Clara’s are one of the few advocacy tactics that have measurably curbed deportations. When policy disentangles local law enforcement from federal immigration enforcement, ICE loses much of its power to terrorize immigrant communities, and localities are able to preserve resources for the community’s real needs such as social services and housing. 

Santa Clara’s policy, and its history in the county, have demonstrated and bolstered the power of the immigrant community. The community has continued to show strong support for the sanctuary ordinance despite the vocal opposition of law enforcement leaders.  Sanctuary policies cannot solve the problems of immigration enforcement overall, but they can substantially reduce the threat of deportation for residents and take power away from law enforcement. 

Santa Clara County’s immigration ordinance is an example of how we can reimagine thriving communities. The policy shows the county’s commitment to making immigrants feel safe and included, regardless of immigration status. Thriving communities mean ensuring that all residents have the freedom to “move, stay, and thrive.” This simply isn’t possible if immigrant communities are living in fear of deportation and local law enforcement.

Analysis

• The state of California does not preempt sanctuary policies, despite some pushback on the federal level. However, other states take strong positions against local sanctuary policies so localities should bear that in mind as they consider developing these ordinances.

• Local government dynamics: Progressive and strongly supportive of the immigrant community

• Policy strength: This county ordinance is considered by immigrant rights organizations to be one of the strongest - if not the strongest - in the country.

Last updated: January 19, 2021

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