Sonoma County is edging toward becoming far less friendly territory for federal immigration enforcement. Yesterday, the Board of Supervisors advanced a draft ordinance that would sharply limit how the county cooperates with immigration authorities, keep enforcement operations off county property and tighten privacy rules around residents’ information. The move is a procedural first step, not a final law, and the proposal will come back after staff and attorneys take a crack at the fine print. Advocates say the vote follows months of organizing and behind-the-scenes county planning.
In a post on X, the County of Sonoma said the board had "moved forward an ordinance" to "safeguard civil rights" by limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, banning the use of county property for enforcement activities and affirming privacy protections for residents and people seeking services. The County of Sonoma described the step as part of an effort to protect access to county services and rebuild trust with immigrant communities. County officials said staff will now develop draft language and outline next steps for the board to review.
📢🌎🤝Today, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors moved forward an ordinance to safeguard civil rights by limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, banning use of County property for enforcement, and affirming privacy protections. https://t.co/yFNUzDH7Ly
— County of Sonoma (@CountyofSonoma) April 8, 2026
What the draft would do
The emerging ordinance would shut federal immigration agents out of county-owned buildings, parking lots and other properties as staging grounds for operations, and would restrict the use of county employees, money or databases for civil immigration enforcement. It would also spell out privacy limits on sharing personal data such as release dates, home addresses and other nonpublic records, protections advocates argue are key to avoiding de facto deportation referrals. Similar measures have been adopted or proposed around the Bay Area in response to heightened ICE activity; Axios reported on San Francisco’s recent ordinance.
Why advocates pushed the county
Immigrant-rights organizers and faith leaders have been urging supervisors to put clear, binding limits on voluntary cooperation with ICE, saying existing county policies leave too much gray area on privacy and data sharing. Community groups, including Los Cien, formally pressed the board earlier this year to end voluntary assistance to immigration enforcement, according to KRCB. A widely covered hunger strike and other demonstrations kept pressure on supervisors to act, The Press Democrat reporting noted.
Legal questions remain
County lawyers now have to craft language that fits inside state and federal law. California already restricts many forms of local help for federal civil immigration enforcement under the California Values Act (SB 54) and requires transparency around ICE access through the TRUTH Act. The California Department of Justice outlines those protections and reporting rules, and the official SB 54 text spells out limits on how much local agencies can cooperate. At the federal level, previous attempts to punish so-called sanctuary jurisdictions for noncooperation have run into court challenges; a federal judge blocked efforts to withhold federal funding from those jurisdictions in April 2025, according to AP. For a deeper legal rundown, see the California DOJ overview and the official SB 54 bill text.
What’s next
Supervisors have now kicked the ordinance to county staff and counsel to turn the concept into legalese. Once a formal draft is ready, it will head back to the board for public hearings and a potential vote. County emergency-planning work and a draft "ConOps" outlining how Sonoma would respond to federal immigration actions helped accelerate the timeline, according to recent reporting. Expect more packed meetings and pointed public comment when the measure returns to the dais, as supervisors weigh civil-rights protections against public-safety duties. KRCB has detailed the county’s recent planning efforts.
