BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — There is an ongoing issue in Kern County when it comes to immigration and detention facilities like Mesa Verde. A presentation was held during the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday where both the Kern County Sheriff's Office and the ACLU shared new data on detentions and holds made for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The issue at hand is allegations that KCSO is working with ICE to hold detainees at facilities like Mesa Verde for longer than their release dates so that ICE can interview or take them into their custody.
However, legislation like the Truth Act and the Values Act have been passed protecting detainees.
During Tuesday's supervisors meeting, KCSO and the ACLU presented new data showing the sheriff's department is no longer working with ICE to hold detainees for longer than what's needed. And that the number of holds and interviews by ICE has drastically gone down.
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But that's still not good enough for some people.
"We can stand up and say that we do not engage or want to continue to engage in any kind of communication or collaboration with ICE," said Kern County resident Rosa Lopez. "It's shameful that we've allowed ICE to have three immigration detention centers in our backyards. These centers have no purpose other than to generate profit for a private corporation called Geo. Annual profit is 2.4 billion."
The ACLU said the data does show a decrease in those holds and interviews but they want to meet with KCSO to discuss more solutions.
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