Strengthening County Efforts to Protect Our Immigrant Community

Supervisor Martinez speaks at the Immigration Roundtable hosted by California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas on April 24, 2026.

Dear District 5 Resident,

At the Board meeting last week, I gave an update on the activities of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Subcommittee, which I co-founded earlier this year, to prepare our County for the possibility of large-scale immigration enforcement action like those we have seen across our country.

Given reports that the federal government is considering building an immigration detention center near Gilroy in Santa Clara County, we know this work is as important as ever. At this time, no plans for the detention center have been approved and no construction is underway, but we are monitoring the situation closely and staying in close communication with regional partners to determine next steps.

Building on the Subcommittee’s recommendations approved by the Board in March, the Subcommittee has continued to make meaningful progress to strengthen the County’s response and build partnerships.

Over the past few weeks, our work has focused on:

Addressing gaps in departmental protocols, specifically staff preparedness to interact with immigration enforcement officers;
Implementing recently approved ordinance restricting County property for civil immigration enforcement;
Assessing compliance with the County’s use of data that could be used to track immigrants; and
Coordinating with community and regional partners.

I hope you will read on to learn more about these efforts and the recommendations approved by the Board on May 19, as well as the Subcommittee’s next steps and future focus areas.

Also, if you have friends or family members directly impacted by immigration policies, please help share this County survey (available in English and Spanish) about the needs and experiences of immigrants in our community. The feedback will be used to improve services and guide local response over the coming six months.

Stay tuned for my next update on S.H.I.E.L.D, which will be presented to the Board on September 15th. If you have questions or feedback, feel free to contact my office or write to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Subcommittee at shield@santacruzcountyca.gov.

In community,

[officialname]

Santa Cruz County Supervisor, District 5

Strengthening County Policies and Operational Protocols

The Subcommittee has continued its work to strengthen County policies and operational protocols:

Created a county-wide policy to address gaps in departmental protocols and train all staff on what do if they interact with immigration enforcement agents, with the goal of protecting the safety and privacy of staff, clients, and the public
Identified twenty County-owned and -controlled properties where civil immigration enforcement will be prohibited and preparing multilingual signage in English and Spanish with additional languages available via a QR code
Performed an audit (conducted by the Inspector General) of the Sheriff’s Office and its compliance with data collected by Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) cameras, such as FLOCK cameras—results confirmed that the Sheriff’s Office follows all applicable state laws, including restrictions and prohibitions on data sharing

Collaborating with Community and Regional Partners

Collaborating with community partners and regional leaders is critical to ensuring that our work remains informed by on-the-ground efforts and the experiences, actions, and strategies of our neighboring counties. Over the past few months, the Subcommittee:

Convened a quarterly roundtable with community partners to learn about the impact of federal policies on immigrant communities, and met with a range of local organizations from higher education institutions to rapid response networks
Attended events with elected officials, including an immigration roundtable with California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, and participated in a regional collaborative effort known as “Belonging to the Bay” to facilitate information-sharing and coordination between Santa Cruz County and our neighboring counties

What's Next?

The Subcommittee will continue to build on the internal policy review and partner with community and regional leaders to ensure that the County will be prepared and ready for possible civil immigration enforcement action:

Begin departmental-level trainings to support the consistent application of deescalation procedures, documentation standards, and legal boundaries
Develop a framework to clarify County roles, interdepartmental coordination, and communication pathways in the event of significant federal immigration activity
Explore opportunities to align the County’s emergency response plan with other counties and cities in our area
Convene our quarterly community roundtable in August and continue collaboration with regional partners

More Information:

Board Report (May 19)
Video of the S.H.I.E.L.D. update at the May 19 Board meeting and slide deck
Federal Immigration Enforcement Engagement and Oversight Policy (English or Spanish)
Audit on the Sheriff’s Office compliance with ALPR policies (English or Spanish)

S.H.I.E.L.D. materials are being made available in English and Spanish at www.santacruzcountyca.gov/SHIELD.aspx.

Strengthening County Efforts to Protect Our Immigrant Community

District 5 Team

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