Immigration Policy
Canal Alliance’s organizational values of championing immigrants, striving for justice and respecting everyone provides the foundation for our advocacy efforts in immigration reform.
Canal Alliance offers the only affordable and comprehensive immigration legal services for low-income immigrants and their families in Marin County. Canal Alliance’s legal team provides free or low-cost representation and assistance with immigration-related services, including consultations and referrals for family members of individuals detained locally by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Since 2018 Canal Alliance has been working to address the following Immigration Policy:
Problem Statement
After the California Values Act – also known as Senate Bill (SB) 54 – took effect, the Sheriff continued to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Marin County Sheriff’s Office:
- Shares release dates and times of all inmates requested by ICE regardless of the crime,
- Allows ICE to interview detainees at the county jail (unless they decline),
- Allows access to non-public areas in the county jail to facilitate transfers to ICE, and
- All of these activities take place regardless of the nature of the alleged crime committed or whether charges are filed.
From January 1 to mid-October 2018, the Sheriff’s office received 135 ICE Notification Requests, and as a result, 54 inmates were transferred to ICE custody.
Policy Recommendation
Canal Alliance’s approach is to advocate with local law enforcement to limit the level of cooperation between law enforcement agencies and ICE. The advocacy goal is to increase protection for immigrants under SB 54, the California Values Act. Additionally, we participate in a coalition advocating to reduce the level of cooperation between Marin County law enforcement agencies and ICE. Participation in this coalition will further Canal Alliance’s efforts to reverse the deportation pipeline from the Marin law enforcement agencies to ICE detention centers, where immigrants must navigate an environment that is inherently biased against them.
