Hundreds of community members showed up to a packed special forum hosted by the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors Tuesday afternoon. Dozens spoke for several hours as the Sheriff’s Office discussed their cooperation with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The county held the forum because of the state’s Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds Act, or TRUTH Act, which is required whenever local law enforcement like the Sheriff’s Office releases people to ICE during the previous year, according to the bill’s text.
In 2025, the Sheriff’s Office released 69 inmates from the county jail into ICE custody, according to statistics provided at the forum. That same year, ICE had notified the Sheriff’s Office 16 times of its presence at the jail, said San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson.
“This isn’t a Republican fight, this isn’t a Democratic fight,” said Cesar Vasquez, rapid response coordinator for 805 Undocufund. “It’s a moral obligation to stand up for those that can’t, and to stand for those that are silenced and that are overlooked in society because of their immigration status or because of the color of their skin.”
Vasquez, who is 18 years old, leads a group of volunteers for the local non-profit organization who support the undocumented community in the Central Coast through financial relief and text-alert networks. He was among dozens of other speakers during the public comment section of the forum that lasted nearly four hours.
People gathered inside the government building to attend the forum either in the Board of Supervisors chambers, in the lobby or inside two overflow rooms. Others protested outside along Monterey Street holding anti-ICE signs.
Parkinson provided information about ICE access to inmates at the local county jail at the forum, and public comments ranged from discontent with ICE presence in the county to full support of the Sheriff’s Office and detainment operations involving federal immigration agents.
Board questions sheriff on recent ICE activity in the county
The presentation by the Sheriff’s Office outlined information regarding Senate Bill 54, also known as the California Values Act, which provides local law enforcement guidelines for sharing information to ICE and other federal immigration agencies.
According to the 2017 bill, local law enforcement cannot inform federal immigration agents of a person’s release date unless the information is publicly available. The Sheriff’s Office outlines times throughout the morning for scheduled releases on their website, along with a call number.
“ICE knows who is in custody,” Parkinson said. “They know our release policy.”
Certain convictions on an inmate can also warrant the local law enforcement’s choice to transfer someone over to federal immigration agents or notify agents of a person’s release date, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California website.
At times chuckles could be heard from the crowd as Parkinson presented, some protesting silently by holding up signs reading “propaganda” and “lies” relating to the sheriff’s comments on how many times ICE had showed up to the jail.
While Parkinson said ICE notified the Sheriff’s Office that they were in the jail lobby 16 times last year, it is unclear whether the federal immigration agency was there more.
Vasquez said his volunteers witnessed more instances of ICE in the jail than what Parkinson mentioned.
The board followed the sheriff’s presentation with questions and comments. SLO County Supervisor Bruce Gibson asked Parkinson about a video that surfaced in December of a confrontation between ICE and protesters in the lobby of the county jail.
The video, posted to the Sheriff’s Office Instagram, shows protesters shouting obscenities directed at ICE agents. ICE gave the video to the Sheriff’s Office after deputies reached out for investigation into the encounter, The SLO Tribune previously reported.
At Tuesday’s forum, Gibson mentioned the video that was produced by an ICE agent and posted onto the Sheriff’s Office social media as “perceived coordination with ICE.”
Parkinson defended the video by explaining the need for audio in the version the ICE agent had captured. While the jail lobby and other parts of the facility have many cameras, according to Parkinson, those do not pick up sound.
Still, Gibson believed the incident could have been shared differently.
“I think it would have been better for you to document whatever disturbance there was using your own video rather than one contributed by ICE because it gives at least the appearance in some people’s minds of coordinating with ICE,” Gibson said.
SLO County Supervisor Jimmy Paulding proposed that the board, alongside the Sheriff’s Office and local advocacy groups, create an ad hoc committee in the future that could help make the “community safer.”
Public comment lasts nearly four hours
Public comment began around 3:45 p.m., as many took the stand to address the board for one minute. The public comments followed in order of a one minute section, two minute section and three minute section of speeches throughout the rest of the evening and night.
Many referenced the recently separate killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month.
Representatives from organizations like Planned Parenthood, the SLO Democratic Party and the local Green Party expressed their discontent with the collaboration between the Sheriff’s Office and ICE.
Others like SLO County Republican Party Chair Randall Jordan addressed the need to support ICE and the Sheriff’s Office, adding that President Donald Trump was elected to enforce his immigration policy around the country.
Some who commented their support over ICE activity in the county garnered groans and sighs from anti-ICE members in the crowd. Meanwhile other comments against the recent ICE activity in and around the jail gathered shouts of disapproval from those in favor of ICE and its presence within the county.
One commenter addressed the board’s choice in timing for the forum, which began at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, as inconvenient for some who were unable to show up and share their experiences relating to ICE activity.
Talie Krantz, president of the Cal Poly Democrats club, raced to the forum as soon as her class ended around the time the forum started. Krantz agreed that the timing was not as accessible for everyone and that local officials could be doing more to provide awareness to the community about ICE and how to protect people.
Krantz, a political science junior, believes Cal Poly students should have empathy for immigrants in their community as they are the “foundation of our country.” She also thinks Cal Poly lacks communication with its students about the actions it would take to protect them and reassure safety for those living in fear.