The Angry Poodle column of August 13 is unfair to Sheriff Bill Brown, both in terms of his actions during the recent immigration crisis and his historical positions on the subject. All of California law enforcement have been blindsided by the actions of federal immigration enforcement officers. I believe that while their objectives are wrong and their tactics are deplorable, nothing they are doing is illegal.
Sheriff Bill Brown and most of the sheriffs in California have met with federal officials and conveyed their concerns about the lack of communication, the lack of uniform standards for both apparel and equipment, and the haphazard ways in which the raids are conducted. Federal actions have severely damaged the trust built up between local law enforcement and the communities they serve. The current situation has two root causes, both based on performative theater rather than serious policy discussions.
First, the Trump administration departed from its stated objective of deporting the “worst of the worst.” Given that there are over two million people with federal deportation warrants in the system, there is a clear opportunity to go after people who have already had their day in court and been afforded due process. The reported decision to depart from that perspective to achieve a stated goal of apprehending 3,000 people per day changed the enforcement protocols and created the level of chaos we currently see.
Secondly, the passage of SB54 in 2018 removed Immigration agents from the jails and prisons of California. I am certain that at the time this felt like a very noble action to take and one which appeared to contain no consequences. This is because, at that time, the federal government was doing almost no immigration enforcement. However, Sheriff Brown, myself, and numerous law enforcement leaders and organizations around California warned that the legislation was overbroad and would likely result in significant social disruption should the federal government choose to begin enforcing the law. We were ignored.
What is troubling is that our elected leaders know all of this. They also know that most of California’s law enforcement leadership, particularly Bill Brown — who headed the California Police Chiefs’ Association and the California Sheriffs’ Association, prior to his current role — have been doing everything possible to stop the current enforcement actions; specifically urging them to stop doing work-site enforcement and community raids.
Unfortunately, mostly for the community whom everyone says that care about, the entrenched political positions and accompanying political theatre are not doing much for anyone. However, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff did not create this chaos, and he cannot fix it. Only true political leadership is going to accomplish that.
