REDWOOD CITY — As California continues to grapple with the novel coronavirus pandemic, an immigrant rights group on Wednesday called on San Mateo County Sheriff Carlos Bolanos to take the extreme step of fully emptying the jails his office oversees, as well as to stop the transfer of inmates to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The group, San Mateo County Coalition for Immigrant Rights, made their demands during a “COVID-19 safe car rally” outside the Maguire Correctional Facility in Redwood City. About 50 people in 25 vehicles participated, honking horns and waving signs.
“This coronavirus pandemic is laying bare big truths: One, that incarceration has always been a public health crisis. Two, that the health of each of us is dependent on the health of all of us. These things were true before the coronavirus pandemic, and they are more urgently and acutely true during it,” said Kathy Reyes, a former inmate and public health worker.
“Jails, prisons, and detention centers have never been safe or healthy places for our beloved community members,” she continued. “Sheriff Bolanos needs to stop ICE transfers and rapidly decarcerate now.”
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office did not immediately provide a comment on the group’s demands.
County courts and sheriffs have steadily decreased jail populations since Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in early March. As of Monday, the Maguire Correctional Facility held 260 inmates, down from 486 on Feb. 29, and the Maple Street Correctional Center held 275 inmates, down from 483 on Feb. 29, according to the sheriff’s office.
Last month, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office agreed to the release of all inmates with 60 days or less of their sentences left to serve. Another 130 were to be released this month under a new rule that sets bail at $0 for misdemeanors and most non-violent felonies.
No inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, but two deputies have contracted the virus.
In addition to seeking the release of every inmate from county jails, the group wants the sheriff to end all transfers to ICE. In 2018, the sheriff’s office handed over 51 inmates, according to the group. The group alleges inmates who are transferred often end up in crowded and unsanitary detention facilities hundreds of miles away from their families. Such conditions, the group says, are ripe for the rapid spread of the virus.
“ICE transfers from San Mateo County Jails should have ended long ago,” said Sarait Escorza, a participatory defense organizer with civil-rights group Silicon Valley De-Bug, in a statement. “Not only do ICE transfers cause irreparable harm to the immigrant families and communities, but now could lead to serious illness or even death.”
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