Sacramento Sheriff’s Office Sued Over Deportations

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit accusing the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office of violating the California Values Act, or Senate Bill 54, which restricts state and local assistance with federal immigration enforcement.

In the suit, the ACLU says Sheriff Scott Jones has assisted federal officials in detaining undocumented Sacramento residents for deportation after the county jail notified ICE of their release.

“We have documentation from the sheriff's department itself, showing exactly how these illegal transfers between the sheriff's office and ICE have occurred," Sean Riordan, a senior staff attorney with ACLU Northern California, said.

The lawsuit also accuses sheriff’s officials of violating the Truth Act, which requires local law enforcement to provide a copy of a transfer detainer for deportation to the subject once it receives one from ICE.

Since Senate Bill 54’s implementation in 2018, a number of jurisdictions — particularly in rural and conservative counties — have been accused of flouting the law.

Read more about the lawsuit against the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office at KCRA.