Marin supervisors to weigh limits on immigration agents’ use of county property

A policy before the board on Tuesday would bar federal agents from staging on county land, but a coalition of residents says only a binding ordinance will do.

By Staff Reporter

The Marin County Board of Supervisors is scheduled on Tuesday to take up a proposal that would bar federal immigration agents from using county property as a base for enforcement operations, a step that county officials describe as formalizing existing practice and that a coalition of residents says falls short of the binding law it wants.

The proposal, announced by the county on Oct. 9, would prohibit federal immigration agencies from using county-owned or county-controlled property “as staging areas, processing locations or bases of operations for immigration enforcement operations, except where required by law,” according to the county’s news release. Federal officers seeking entry to nonpublic county facilities would have to present a judicial warrant or other legally sufficient authority. County employees would be required to report enforcement activity on county property to the county executive within 24 hours, and the Sheriff’s Office and the Probation Department would report monthly to County Counsel on their interactions with federal immigration officials.

“Immigration enforcement has created fear for many families in our community,” County Executive Derek Johnson said in the release. “People need to be able to turn to their local government for services and support. We have a responsibility to protect that trust and be clear about what the County can and cannot do.”

“No local agency has authority to directly regulate federal immigration enforcement operations nor generally preclude federal officers from entering public places such as parking lots or public lobbies,” the release said, though the county can control access to nonpublic areas and decide how its own property, personnel and resources are used.

A policy, not an ordinance

The central dispute is one of form. The No ICE in Marin coalition, which says it represents 16 community organizations, has pressed the board to adopt an “ICE-Free Marin” ordinance and says more than 10,000 people have signed petitions in support, KTVU reported. About 100 advocates attended the board’s Oct. 13 meeting, according to KALW.

“An ordinance is a law. A law is binding countywide. A policy is not. A law is enforceable against ICE in court. A policy is not,” Patty Hoyt, a volunteer who monitors releases at the county jail, said during public comment, KALW reported.

“We are tired of waiting,” Curt Ries, a coalition organizer and co-chair of Marin’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter, told San Rafael Patch, noting that the campaign began more than a year ago. Mr. Ries told KTVU that Marin is one of two Bay Area counties that has neither passed an ICE-free ordinance nor declared itself a sanctuary county.

County officials have defended the choice. Mr. Johnson told KTVU that a resolution takes effect immediately and can be adjusted quickly if federal enforcement changes. “The recommendation coming out of the attorney general’s office is on a policy,” he said. “The reality is half of the counties are a resolution, half of them are an ordinance.” County Counsel Brandon Halter cited speed, flexibility and enforceability as advantages of a policy, KALW reported.

Supervisor Brian Colbert, in an email to KALW, said he was awaiting staff’s analysis. “I care most about what will actually protect people,” he wrote. “So far, counties that have adopted ordinances have not seen a change in the level of ICE enforcement.”

The debate carries an electoral edge. The board’s president, Eric Lucan, is running for the State Assembly on Nov. 3 against Jackie Elward, who joined the Oct. 13 protest, KALW reported; some demonstrators carried signs directed at Mr. Lucan.

The state deadline behind the debate

Mr. Johnson’s reference to the attorney general points to a less visible driver. Senate Bill 580, signed in 2025, directed Attorney General Rob Bonta to write model policies for how state and local agencies respond to immigration authorities. Mr. Bonta issued that guidance on July 1, and the law “requires state and local agencies by January 1, 2027, to adopt the model policies or their equivalent,” according to the guidance document. Every county in California, including Marin, faces that deadline regardless of how it frames its rules.

Contra Costa County worked through the same question in September. In a Sept. 8 report, its county counsel, Thomas L. Geiger, told supervisors they could satisfy the law with policies alone, or add a broader non-cooperation policy or ordinance. The report noted that the county “does not enforce an ordinance against itself” through fines or injunctions, and that “the public is not authorized to enforce a County ordinance or policy on behalf of the County.” Contra Costa supervisors unanimously chose a policy over an ordinance, Hoodline reported.

Advocates argue an ordinance would be harder for a future board to unwind; county lawyers have suggested the practical difference may be smaller than the label implies.

Marin’s broader posture

Marin has taken other steps. This year the board allocated an additional $1 million for immigration legal services, emergency assistance and the Marin Rapid Response Network, bringing its two-year total to $1.5 million, according to the county. In June it joined a brief supporting Santa Clara County and the state in their challenge to a proposed immigration detention facility near Gilroy. A federal judge blocked construction there in September.

The county’s 2026-28 budget also omits funding from the federal State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which reimburses jails for holding certain noncitizens, Bay City News reported in The Post. The coalition says on its website that the county has not committed to leaving the program permanently. The Marin Rapid Response Network says ICE has detained 55 Marin residents and deported 13 since March 2025, according to KALW.

Elsewhere, on Oct. 13 the Mountain View City Council unanimously adopted an urgency ordinance imposing a 45-day moratorium, through Nov. 27, on applications for detention, custodial or processing facilities, the Mountain View Voice reported.

The Marin board meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Room 330 of the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, with remote participation by Zoom or phone. Coalition organizers plan to rally at the meeting.