Human Rights Activists Tell Marin County Supes: ICE Out of Marin!

SAN RAFAEL, California (02-10) – The horrific killings of Renee Good on January 7, and Alex Pretti January 24 in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, accompanied by the terrible act of armed masked military outfitted operatives detaining five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian, have only fortified the call by Marin County residents to again demand that the Marin County Sheriff, Jamie Scardina, sever his department’s ties through their voluntary participation in the federal State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP).

During their regularly scheduled meeting on February 10, the Marin County Board of Supervisors heard from human rights activists and county residents demanding the board take immediate action in ending the sheriff’s relationship with ICE by calling for “No ICE in Marin” and “Let’s Melt the ICE.” The supervisors were also presented with a petition containing more than 5,900 signatures demanding that the sheriff end his cooperation with ICE.

In calling for “ICE Out of Marin” activists paralleled the universality of their cause with that of Benjamin Franklin who in 1777 while in Paris noted the newly established US Constitution’s importance was “…the cause of all mankind…we are fighting for their liberty in defending our own.”

In his remarks before the meeting was opened for public comment, Marin County Executive Derek Johnson began by announcing that the new county budget would not include funds from participation in the SCAAP program which audience members applauded, concluding hopefully that it would spell the end of the county cooperating with ICE. One speaker reminded the five-member board they held the power that could end the sheriff’s relationship with ICE by “A simple stroke of the pen.”

Under the program, the sheriff’s office receives a $1,000 bounty for each “Captured Immigrant” defined as an “alien who has been convicted of a felony or two or more misdemeanors,” who when released from jail is turned over to ICE custody. In each case, personal information including name, date of birth, and country of birth are forwarded to the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), part of the DOJ where eligibility is determined before payment of funds is made under the grant program.

According to a spreadsheet published by the BJA, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office received $338,136 in SCAAP funding in 2024. Activists have noted that during the past three years the sheriff has received $1.2 million for processing more than one thousand immigrants, while 34 of the states 58 participating counties, including the Department of Corrections, collected $59.4 million in 2024 according to a Congressional report released in 2025.

Of the nine counties that make up the Bay Area, presently only San Francisco, Napa and Santa Clara do not participate in the SCAAP program and, as a result, receive no funds, a model that Marin activists hope will be adopted here.

Speakers also reminded the board that terminating ICE participation would recognize the “humanity and value of every person who calls Marin their home, no matter their background, what they look like, or where they were born. Immigrants are our friends, our family members, our co-workers, our neighbors, and us. They form an essential part of our community and deserve dignity and security,” in forewarning that “an invasion by ICE is coming!”

Activists from Marin Democratic Socialists of America along with Indivisible Marin and Novato reiterated that “There is no moral justification for any coordination between our sheriff’s office and ICE,” characterizing the relationship as a “shameful collaboration” that continues with “families being separated and children losing parents. Our neighbors are living in fear – afraid to report crimes, seek help, or even drive to work. We deserve to know where our elected officials stand on this issue. Will they continue to prioritize federal dollars over the safety and dignity of our community members?”

“Right now, I do not trust you or our law enforcement organization to protect us from ICE. I want a firm commitment to protect your people!” another speaker opined while several others urged the board to adopt a resolution regarding non-cooperation with ICE like that adopted by Santa Clara County. There, the county established ICE-free zones that disallows ICE the use of any county property for their operations along with a provision that any ICE agent who violates the law would be arrested.

The main flaw in Trump’s campaign promise to remove “the worst of the worst” of undocumented immigrants was exposed by a Homeland Security analysis released on February 9. The report revealed that during the first year of his administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown “fewer than 14 percent of those arrested by ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and other enforcement agencies” had violent criminal records—undermining the claim that the focus was solely on removing the most dangerous individuals.

It remains to be seen if the Marin County Board of Supervisors has truly listened to county residents and will at last stand up and act by terminating this divisive relationship that has had such negative effect on so many people’s lives. ICE’s reputation, too, has become so tainted that the NY Times recently reported Mayor Giuseppe “Beppe” Sala of Milan, Italy, when speaking about ICE deployment in his city, said they are “Not welcome” calling them “…a militia engaged in criminal acts.”

Report and photos by Phil Pasquini

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