The sheriff of San Diego county defied a new policy limiting county cooperation with federal immigration authorities, setting up a showdown over California’s efforts to shield residents from Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans.
On Tuesday, San Diego county supervisors voted to prohibit its sheriff’s department from working with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) on the federal agency’s enforcement of civil immigration laws, including those that allow for deportations.
California law already generally prohibits cooperation but makes exceptions for those convicted of certain violent crimes. The new policy brings San Diego in line with seven other counties in California, including Los Angeles, the nation’s largest, which recently adopted a policy that goes beyond state law.
