SLO County Sheriff Parkinson to explain his office’s interactions with ICE

January 26, 2026

Sheriff Ian Parkinson

By KAREN VELIE

While Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has increased operations in San Luis Obispo County, a small group of people have accused local law enforcement of violating state laws in order to assist ICE agents.

On Tuesday, the SLO County Board of Supervisors will provide a forum for Sheriff Ian Parkinson to explain his office’s interactions with ICE. Parkinson also plans to clear up misinformation regarding warrants and obstructing law enforcement.

“Our responsibility is to navigate and comply with both federal and California law, even when those laws create narrow requirements for local agencies,” according to the SLO County Sheriff’s Office. “The sheriff’s office does not invite or facilitate civil
immigration enforcement actions in the community. Our role is to protect the community.”

Because of the Biden administration’s open border policy, federal immigration enforcement was nearly obsolete during the past four years.

Statistics regarding ICE requests to the SLO County Jail in 2024 and 2025:

• ICE made 111 detainer requests from Sept. 2024 to Dec. 2024, none were complied with
• One federal warrant in 2024, one person turned over to U.S. Marshals
• Ice made 287 detainer requests in 2025, 83 were complied with
• There were 19 federal warrants issued in 2025
• 69 inmates were released to ICE in 2025

The SLO County Sheriff’s Office does not enforce federal immigration law, does not conduct deportations, does not request immigration status, and does not conduct immigration sweeps.

Because of sanctuary state laws, jail staff is only able to hand inmates over to ICE agents who have been convicted of a qualifying offense.

Current SLO County Jail undocumented immigrant inmates with qualifying charges:

• Murder, mayhem, arson – three
• Sex crimes – five
• Assault – three
• Domestic violence – five
• Drug crimes – five
• Felony DUI – four
• Robbery, theft – 12

Jail staff is not permitted to release undocumented inmates charged with lesser crimes to ICE. Instead, ICE agents monitor jail logs for arrests and releases of undocumented immigrants with a history of deportations. On the morning of a suspect’s release, ICE agents wait in the lobby with plans to take the suspect into custody.

In December, a group of protestors berated federal agents and obstructed the arrest of an inmate in the jail lobby. The protesters taunted the ICE agents calling them names, cornering them and yelling at an inmate to flee back into the jail.

The sheriff’s office reminds protesters it is against the law to obstruct federal agents from enforcing immigration laws and to harbor or shield undocumented immigrants.

In addition, ICE agents have the authority to arrest people without a warrant if they believe the suspect has violated a federal law or regulation.

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