(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a lawsuit on behalf of a County of Santa Clara, CA, taxpayer to overturn a policy that protects aliens in Santa Clara County’s custody from removal proceedings by federal immigration authorities. The taxpayer lawsuit, filed on behalf of Howard Myers, is against Laurie Smith, sheriff of Santa Clara County and Carl Neusel, acting chief of correction of Santa Clara County (Howard A. Myers v. Laurie Smith et al. (No. 19-CV-353510)).
Santa Clara County Board Policy 3.54(B) requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to obtain a “judicial arrest warrant” in order for the county to transfer custody of an alien. Federal law however does not require “judicial arrest warrants” for federal authorities to detain aliens, especially for those who had been incarcerated or arrested by local authorities.