The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has pledged to protect the civil rights of the county’s immigrants against stepped-up federal immigration enforcement.
Supervisors of Friday approved a resolution limiting the use of county funds, personnel and other resources to enforce federal immigration laws.
About 27,000 Sonoma County residents are undocumented immigrants, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington.
The move comes amid widespread uncertainty among immigrant families about what is to come, given President-elect Donald Trump’s promises of mass deportation.
“Immigrants are valued and integral members of our community, our social fabric and our local economy,” said Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “This resolution makes it clear that county government will uphold the civil rights of undocumented immigrants like we would for any other member of our community.”
The resolution directs county departments and employees to comply with state law that limits government agencies, including law enforcement, from sharing information about an individual’s immigration status with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, except for those convicted of serious or violent felonies.
“The Board of Supervisors wants all residents of Sonoma County to know that interacting with local government — whether to access benefits, report a crime, file a legal document or any of the countless other ways a resident and government come together — should not put any resident at risk, regardless of immigration status,” according to the resolution.