ICE arrests of Merced County undocumented immigrants ‘minimal’ in 2020. See the numbers
Arrests of undocumented individuals by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) fell to just one individual in Merced County last year, Sheriff Vern Warnke reported on Aug. 24.
That’s a decrease from 12 in 2019 and 40 in 2018.
The sheriff annually discloses the nature and number of local law enforcement’s interactions with ICE, as mandated by California law — the TRUTH (Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds) Act. Any time a jurisdiction permits ICE access to an individual, the act requires a public forum to be held the following year.
“You’ll find that this past year was very minimal,” Warnke said on Aug. 24 as he addressed the Board of Supervisors and members of the public.
ICE sent 160 detainer requests to Merced County last year with only one of those individuals being arrested by ICE after their release from jail, according to the sheriff.
Detainer requests are issued by ICE to local law enforcement when an arrested person’s fingerprints are flagged by the Department of Homeland Security as potentially belonging to an undocumented immigrant.
Booking charges preceding 2020’s detainer requests included 41 nonviolent crimes, 37 domestic violence incidents, 28 alcohol-related charges, 17 narcotics-related crimes, 16 violent felonies and 11 property crimes, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Other represented charges included four sex crimes, four assault and battery incidents, one weapons-related charge and one manslaughter. Warnke reported that none of 2020’s detainer requests followed gang-related crimes.
Of the 160 detainer requests issued by ICE to Merced County last year, 150 of those were for people of Hispanic or Latino descent, according to the sheriff. The remaining 10 individuals were Asian or Pacific Islander.
Individuals age 18-30 accounted for 50 of the detainer requests, while 67 were between 31-40-years-old, 39 were age 41-50, one was 51-60-years-old and three were age 61-70. Nobody older than 70 had a detainer request issued last year, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
No public comments this year
The last three TRUTH forums since 2019 have looked largely similar: the sheriff reports out the past year’s data and describes how ICE’s activities in Merced County work. Warnke has often left immediately following his presentation prior to the public comment portion of the forum.
Each year, Warnke has stated that his office doesn’t collaborate with ICE on operations or supply equipment and personnel, nor conduct investigations into an individual’s immigration status. Inmates are not held without a federal warrant and ICE interviews don’t take place within the county jail, Warnke has stressed.
In contrast with prior years that have drawn significant protest from the public about how undocumented individuals are treated locally or generally in the U.S., Tuesday’s TRUTH forum did not draw any comment from the public.
The forum’s format has also been criticized by residents in the past. The annual meeting does not facilitate back-and-forth engagement between officials and residents, but rather is intended to allow law enforcement to give a report and for the public to comment. Some residents have said this is a missed opportunity for dialogue.
ICE statistics for 2021 in Merced County won’t be released until next year.
This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
