Overview
- The county sent a cease-and-desist letter to ICE on Thursday demanding agents stop using county parking lots and driveways at the jail, Natividad Medical Center, the soccer complex and juvenile hall as staging areas for civil immigration enforcement.
- County counsel says ICE vehicles repeatedly parked in red zones, blocked driveways and employee parking, and forced the Monterey County Jail to temporarily lock down after protesters gathered.
- Video and witness accounts show a federal officer pushing a woman to the ground during a protest outside the county jail, prompting calls for an independent investigation from local civil-rights groups.
- ICE responded that agents were conducting a targeted operation seeking people with prior criminal arrests and said two targets had been released from custody, while accusing the county of protecting criminals.
- Monterey County has cordoned off some parking areas with caution tape, reserved its legal rights and signaled possible litigation as the move builds on a wider California trend of local limits on ICE access to county facilities.