The Napa County Department of Corrections will no longer detain inmates past their release date for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unless a court finds a probable cause to detain them, the jail's director Lenard Vare said this week.
The Sonoma County Sheriff Steve Freitas also recently announced that jail will no longer honor ICE immigration holds that are not supported by an arrest warrant or other probable cause.
The jails' new policies are the same as other jurisdictions in California that have stopped honoring standard ICE detainers, Napa County Public Information Officer Elizabeth Emmett said.
The policy change on ICE detainers followed a U.S. District Court ruling in April on the issue.
The court determined an ICE hold is not a mandate and holding an inmate after release on criminal charges is a civil rights violation.
Before the court ruling, the jail was required to keep an undocumented alien in custody for no more than 48 hours excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays to allow ICE to take the inmate into custody.
In a recent letter to Congress, ICE said its holds are not mandatory, Emmett said.
--Bay City News
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
