San Diego County’s long-simmering fight over immigration enforcement is heading back to center stage this week, as supervisors weigh a rule that would keep federal agents out of the non-public areas of county buildings unless they show up with a judge-signed warrant. The proposal, known as the Civil Liberties Enforcement and Accountability Rules, or CLEAR ordinance, is up for a second reading at Wednesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. Backers say it is about protecting due process in clinics, courthouses and social-service offices, while critics warn it could tangle day-to-day law enforcement cooperation.
What the CLEAR ordinance would do
The draft ordinance would spell out, in black and white, that federal agents, including immigration officers, are not allowed into non-public county property without a judicial warrant. It would require clear, multilingual signs in county buildings explaining those rules, and extend the same protections to county contractors and grant recipients. The measure also directs the Sheriff’s Department to post a public incident report within three business days whenever deputies respond to federal immigration activity, listing which agencies were present, whether a judicial warrant was shown and key identifiers such as badge numbers. Those provisions and deadlines appear in county legislative and agenda documents, according to San Diego County Legistar.
How supervisors voted before
The board advanced the CLEAR ordinance on Jan. 13 with a narrow 3-2 vote, as Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer, Monica Montgomery Steppe and Paloma Aguirre supported moving it forward and Supervisors Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond voted no, 10News reported. Supporters say the measure is modeled on the City of San Diego’s Due Process and Safety law and is meant to ensure immigrant families feel safe using county services. “Your rights don’t end when you walk into a county building,” Lawson-Remer said, according to Voice of San Diego.
Enforcement questions and the sheriff
Even if the ordinance passes, it is not clear how smoothly it will be enforced. The elected sheriff has resisted similar board-backed policies in the past. Reporting by inewsource shows the Sheriff’s Department has at times transferred people to federal custody without a judicial warrant, and Sheriff Kelly Martinez has said the Board of Supervisors does not set policy for her department. That sets the stage for a possible legal showdown if the CLEAR rules are adopted.
What could happen next
If supervisors sign off on the CLEAR ordinance at its second reading, county officials and advocates say they could lean on several tools to enforce it: budget pressure, lawsuits or insisting that the sheriff publicly answer questions about compliance. The state attorney general’s office has said it will watch how local policies are followed and could step in if needed, according to KPBS, although any court fight is likely to unfold over years, not months.
How to follow the meeting
The Board of Supervisors meets at 9 a.m. in Room 310 of the County Administration Center at 1600 Pacific Highway in downtown San Diego. Members of the public can show up in person or log in online to watch and submit comments through the county’s portal. The agenda packet, including the draft ordinance and related documents, is posted with the board’s meeting materials, and county public hearing notices spell out how to participate. For the fine print, including links to the agenda and livestream, see San Diego County Public Hearing Notices.
