Marin supervisors adopt policy barring county property from immigration enforcement staging
Supervisors voted on Tuesday to put a countywide policy in place that keeps county land and buildings out of federal immigration operations, shields personal information the county holds, and makes staff report any enforcement contact to the County Executive within a day.
SAN RAFAEL: Marin County supervisors voted on Tuesday, October 20, to adopt a resolution that sets a countywide policy in motion, the county announced. The policy draws a line around county land, buildings, staff time and records: none of them is to be put at the service of federal civil immigration enforcement beyond what the law demands.
In practice, that means federal agencies may not turn county-owned or county-controlled sites into places to gather before an operation, hold or process people, or run an enforcement effort from. It also tightens the safeguards around the personal details residents hand over when they use county programs and services. Anyone from a federal immigration agency who wants into a part of a county facility that is closed to the public will first have to show a warrant signed by a judge, or some other authority the law recognizes. And the rules that already limit when the county may hand confidential information to immigration enforcers are restated, within the bounds of state and federal law. County officials framed the move against a backdrop of stepped-up enforcement in Marin and across the country.
Reporting rules carry the policy
What gives the policy its teeth is a reporting chain. A county worker who learns that enforcement activity has touched county property has 24 hours to tell the County Executive. The Sheriff's Office and the Probation Department owe County Counsel a report every month on their contacts with federal officials. The county says the policy grows out of protocols put in place in 2025, and that the monthly rhythm is meant to make its dealings with immigration authorities easier to see and oversee.
"Immigration enforcement has created fear for many families in our community," said County Executive Derek Johnson. "People need to be able to turn to their local government for services and support. We have a responsibility to protect that trust and be clear about what the County can and cannot do."
"I am proud that Marin County is taking another important step to protect our communities and stand up against unlawful federal immigration enforcement," said Supervisor Dennis Rodoni. "No one should live in fear or feel unsafe accessing County services because of their immigration status. We have a responsibility to protect the rights and dignity of all our residents, defend due process, and ensure County resources aren't used to support immigration enforcement activities that undermine the trust we have worked so hard to build."
The limits the county states plainly
County officials were candid about where their power stops. A county cannot write rules for how federal officers do their jobs, and it cannot keep them out of places the public itself may enter, like a parking lot or a lobby. What it can decide is who gets into its nonpublic rooms and whether its own buildings, employees and resources get lent to an enforcement effort, within federal and state law. Marin has been handling such contacts under informal administrative practices, officials said, and Tuesday's adoption aligns it with nearby jurisdictions that have written similar limits down.
The vote also extends a record the board has been building since January 2025, when it passed a resolution committing the county to democracy, justice, equity and inclusion. This year the board put a further $1 million behind legal help for immigrants, emergency assistance and the Marin Rapid Response Network, taking the two-year total to $1.5 million, and the Public Defender's Office brought on a dedicated immigration attorney. Marin is one of the plaintiffs in San Francisco versus Trump, the case challenging the administration's attempt to tie federal money to local cooperation with civil immigration enforcement, and in June the board voted to add the county's name to a friend-of-the-court brief backing Santa Clara County and the State of California in their fight against a planned federal detention facility near Gilroy.
Supervisors took the item up at their Tuesday session in the board chambers at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael. In announcing the result, the county cast the policy as a renewed promise to stand with immigrant communities and to keep residents' trust in their local government intact.
None to date. The Tribune corrects errors promptly and transparently. Read our corrections policy.
