San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office reiterates sanctuary policies

With the federal government transition to a second Donald Trump presidential term, and threats of mass deportations are made, many in the county are hesitating to go about their days as usual. New executive orders have made former “safe zones” now open for enforcement, including places of worship and public schools. 

“We are aware some community members won’t go to their doctors, they don’t want to go in government buildings, they are fearful of taking their children to school,” Corpus said. “It really hurts our entire county because of the rhetoric that is out there and the raids we see happening.” 

Many residents are understandably worried, but the Sheriff’s Office will “only enforce local and state law, we do not enforce federal laws,” Corpus said. 

Deputies working on behalf of the Sheriff’s Office will never ask for a resident’s immigration status, Corpus said. As the organization who manages the local correctional facilities, the Sheriff’s Office also will not allow federal agents access to anyone’s release information or other data. Corpus added that the county will also not use any resources to help serve or enforce Immigration and Customs Enforcement warrants. 

While “nothing has changed” since Corpus took office, regardless of the transition of power to Trump, the sheriff has seen the shift in residents in just the first weeks of his second term. 

“It has become more difficult to reassure our immigrant population, but we continue to work at it and build those relationships so at least they know they can call us,” she said. “We want the communities to know that we need them to call us.” 

The state has a sanctuary law, passed during the first Trump administration in 2017, that limits California law enforcement participation in immigration enforcement but allows authorities to use local jail websites and fingerprint databases to identify people of interest. It was not until 2023 that San Mateo County passed its own local law that includes stricter policies against cooperating with ICE. 

“We believe in serving all of our members of our community with dignity, compassion and respect,” Corpus said. “Since I took office in January 2023, we have not turned anyone over to ICE.”

However, a sanctuary status as a county and state does not prevent ICE from facilitating its own operations or arresting individuals within county lines. 

“Unfortunately, we can’t stop them from doing their jobs,” Corpus said. “What we can do is continue to build those relations we have with our communities and reassure them at the local level we will not collaborate to enforce any federal laws.” 

Fear has already surmounted in many communities, said Victoria Sun, an immigration attorney at Pangea Legal Services, which she described as “one of the strongest tools” the Trump administration has.

“They want to stoke the fear because they know the fear itself and spreading the fear is a tool to use for people to self deport or not seek resources they would be entitled to or to participate in community,” Sun said. 

To mitigate fears, Sun said residents should utilize the Rapid Response Network’s 24/7 hotline that will dispatch volunteers to confirm sightings of ICE agents. Pangea Legal Services is a leading collaborator of the network, which also offers legal representation to clients who have been arrested. 

A major component of the hotline is to empower residents while avoiding the spread of false information and further fear. There are often false alarms of ICE agent sightings, Sun said, but the Rapid Response Network’s role is to investigate the situation. 

“Power not panic,” is the network’s guiding ethos, Sun said. 

Many unmarked vehicles often used by detectives through the Sheriff’s Office have raised questions from residents, Corpus said. Even members within the office will double check with deputies internally if certain vehicles are involved in the office’s work. 

In addition to the hotline, Corpus said residents can also call 911 to ask if officers in plain clothes or unmarked vehicles in question are on behalf of the Sheriff’s Office. 

“In my experience working through the county, the immigration population, they’re hard-working people that really just want a better life for themselves and their children,” Corpus said. “It’s hard to see the fear in their eyes and the fear in their children’s eyes as well.” 

Additionally, non-Spanish-speaking deputies will be given identification cards that clarify for Spanish-speaking residents that the deputy does not enforce immigration laws. Cards state that the deputy works for local law enforcement and will not require information on the person’s immigration status.

“I made these cards about six years ago, hoping that I would never have to use them again,” Corpus said. 

Following raids in Kern County Jan. 7, concerns of large-scale operations to deport immigrants have grown, but ICE presence in the Bay Area has so far been to arrest targeted individuals. While ICE may conduct these arrests, local law enforcement will not engage, Corpus reiterated. 

“What we’re seeing is a lot of divisiveness and we’re seeing some of that rhetoric that contains a lot of hate and it’s sad and scary to see at the same time,” Corpus said. “I feel our country had made some forward movements and now we’re going in a different direction. We really just want people to feel safe in our county and trust us.”