"Federal immigration officials could be setting their sights on Sonoma county. A local supervisor says Department of Homeland Security officials asked in a meeting if the sheriff's office would notify DHS when undocumented immigrants are arrested. Farmers in wine country have been working at all hours to get their grapes off the vine before they rot. The harvest follows an especially hard season slowed by a cooler summer and made worse by other obstacles including tariffs and oversupply from the pandemic."
"Department of Homeland Security officials visited the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office last week for a purported meet-and-greet with a new DHS regional supervisor. During that meeting, sheriff's office officials say DHS asked if the sheriff's office would notify the department when undocumented people are arrested. State law permits local authorities to respond to DHS inquiries in cases of violent crime, but the sheriff's office said they would stick to their policy of not responding to any DHS inquiries."
""Just to get my point across... the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office does not cooperate with ICE," said Sergeant Juan Valencia, a sheriff's office spokesperson."
Department of Homeland Security officials requested that the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office notify DHS when undocumented people are arrested during a meet-and-greet with a new regional supervisor. The sheriff's office declined and reaffirmed a policy of not responding to DHS inquiries, noting state law allows cooperation only in violent crime cases. Sergeant Juan Valencia emphasized that the Sheriff's Office does not cooperate with ICE. County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, present at the meeting, shared the details citing public concern about immigration enforcement. Separately, wine country farmers raced to harvest grapes before rot after a cooler summer and challenges including tariffs and pandemic-era oversupply.
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