Sister of Santa Rosa Resident Arrested by ICE Inside Sonoma County Jail Seeks Answers, Oversight Body Confirms Sheriff Violated Internal Policy in Previous ICE Arrest at Probation Office

Media Contacts: 

Alex Mensing, California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, alex[@]ccijustice.org, 415-684-5463

Gina Garibo, North Bay Organizing Project, ggaribo[@]northbayop.org, (707) 308-9056

April 27, 2026

For Immediate Release

Sister of Santa Rosa Resident Arrested by ICE Inside Sonoma County Jail Seeks Answers, Oversight Body Confirms Sheriff Violated Internal Policy in Previous ICE Arrest at Probation Office 

Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will Vote Tomorrow on Sanctuary Ordinance that Excludes the Sheriff

Photo & Video Available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1POVeaO6UDfP4TlH672U7nWoao36chZTY?usp=sharing 

Image credit: California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice

Santa Rosa, CA – On Monday morning, immigrant justice groups held a press conference in front of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office and demanded an end to all collaboration between the Sheriff and federal immigration authorities. The sister of a 23-year old man identified by the pseudonym “Carlos” spoke during the press conference via telephone while on her way to visit her brother at the California City ICE Detention Center, nearly 400 miles away. Carlos was arrested last Thursday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents inside the Sonoma County Jail just hours after a judge ordered him released on probation.

“The last time I saw my brother was on April 23rd at 8:40 on the 23rd. They didn’t let me say goodbye to my brother or anything. I waited for my brother in the jail lobby from 8:40 AM until after 3:00 PM without even going to the bathroom or eating,” said Yoana, Carlos’s sister. Yoana received a phone call from her brother around 3:00 PM, when he told her he had been arrested by ICE agents inside the jail and taken out the back door. He told her he was at the ICE office in San Francisco.

“My question for the Sheriff is why did he give my brother to ICE? Did they have a warrant? And why did they treat me that way? To this date they haven’t given me any explanation,” Yoana said. “I know my brother isn’t perfect. He made mistakes, that’s why he was there. But that’s no reason for the Sheriff to do this to him. He had been in jail and was being released, and now they’ve sent him to California City where he is detained. They’re giving him double punishment. My brother is a good person. He has a 3-year-old child.”

“Our immigrant community also makes mistakes but they should not be torn apart from their families, loved ones and communities because of it,” said Luis, Coordinator for the North Bay Rapid Response Network. “These are individuals who are taking responsibility and accountability for their actions and have served their sentence. They should not face double punishment by being thrown into a detention center or deported. An entire community is paying attention and demands our local agencies completely stop collaboration with ICE.”

Linda Evans with the Migrant Justice in Action Initiative of the North Bay Organizing Project filed a complaint last year over an incident after a person named Victor was detained by ICE inside the Sonoma County Probation Office in March 2025. Recently, the Sonoma County Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO) sent Evans a letter revealing that Sheriff Deputies had violated their own internal policy. The Sheriff’s own internal investigation initially declared itself “exonerated,” but after IOLERO disagreed, they reviewed the incident and acknowledged the violation.

“These are disturbing findings about Victor's arrest. The treatment of Yoana by the Sheriff's Deputies just last week is extremely disturbing. Worse than disturbing, it is unacceptable,” said Evans. “Just like ICE, our Sheriff is second-guessing the court system. We need a Sheriff who is truly transparent and accountable to the people of our county, not to the masked thugs who are kidnapping people instead of letting them rejoin the community.”

The Sonoma County Sanctuary Coalition has been advocating for over a year for Sonoma County to pass a sanctuary law. On April 7, 2026, the County passed an ordinance that “prohibits County employees from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement operations, bans immigration authorities from using County property for enforcement actions, and affirms that the County does not collect or share immigration status unless required by law,” according to a County press release. However, the Ordinance exempted the Sheriff’s Office, despite the fact that it is the only county agency that regularly collaborates with ICE.

“People’s safety is on the line. When Sonoma County aids ICE, we are sending people into the dangerous system of warehouse jails, detention of thousands of children, massive overcrowding, lack of access to healthcare, violence, intimidation, torture, disappearances, starvation, and even death,” said Renee Saucedo with the Sonoma County Sanctuary Coalition. “Nobody deserves to be thrown into this dangerous and illegal system, including those who have served their time for convictions. The Sonoma County Sanctuary Coalition wants the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to advocate that the Sheriff stop providing information to ICE, except when a judicial warrant has been issued.”

Tomorrow, Tuesday April 28, at 9:00 AM, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will hold a second reading on the sanctuary ordinance that excludes the Sheriff, and members of the Sonoma County Sanctuary Coalition are calling on community members to join them to voice their concerns.

# # #