EDITORIAL: Santa Clara County sanctuary for violent offenders must end

March 31-- Mar. 31--The tragic murder of 59-year-old Bambi Larson in her South San Jose home, allegedly by a gang member in this country illegally, demands a change in Santa Clara County's ICE policy for violent felons.

San Mateo, Alameda and Monterey counties notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when potentially dangerous criminals are about to be released from county jails, as allowed by state law. But not Santa Clara County, which has one of the most lenient policies in California.

ICE doesn't have a good record of picking up offenders when notified by counties, but Santa Clara County should do what it can to make the county safer.

Larson was stabbed to death Feb. 28, allegedly by Carlos Eduardo Arevalo Carranza, 24, of El Salvador. Carranza was the subject of six civil detainer requests to the county from agents trying to take him into custody, according to ICE officials. He had been held at jails on a number of prior convictions, including drug charges, burglary and one felony charge.

Santa Clara County supervisors had a chance to get on the right side of the issue nearly four years ago in the wake of the heartbreaking death of Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco.

District Attorney Jeff Rosen, Sheriff Laurie Smith and Supervisors Joe Simitian and Mike Wasserman fought to change Santa Clara County's rules to allow the notification of federal immigration agents when undocumented immigrants with violent criminal histories are released from local jails. But the effort to provide additional protection for residents from predators required a crucial third vote from Supervisors Dave Cortese, Cindy Chavez or Ken Yeager. Instead, it died in committee over disagreement about how it would be enforced.

DA Rosen, Sheriff Smith and the Santa Clara County Police Chiefs Association on Tuesday put forward a proposal that would accomplish the ICE notification goal. Supervisor Susan Ellenberg, who was elected last November to replace the termed-out Yeager, said she supports a change. And Cortese held a news conference March 21 calling for a re-examination of the policy. He said Friday that he supports the notification principle, in general.

This time, the county must get it done. Without excessive delay. The county needs to do everything it can to reduce the chances of another tragedy.

The issue first arose in 2011 when the Department of Homeland Security sought immigration holds on inmates being released from jails so that ICE could check their immigration status. The county soon found itself holding as many as 400 inmates -- from minor to violent offenders -- at tremendous cost to taxpayers. So the county initiated a policy of not holding inmates beyond their sentences unless ICE agents found out about the person independently and obtained a court order.

The approach makes sense for those who haven't committed serious crimes. Keeping immigration issues out of local law enforcement and crime prevention is critical to building and maintaining trust between residents and police officers. That should include those being released from jail who pose no risk to public safety. Violent offenders are another matter.

The Legislature addressed the issue last year when it passed SB 54, which was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown and took effect Jan. 1. The law's intent is clear. It bars local law enforcement agencies from cooperating and communicating with ICE unless there is a federal warrant or the person has been convicted of any of the more than 800 serious crimes listed in the law.

Notifying ICE when serious criminals are released provides no guarantee that ICE will pick them up. Nor will it ensure that offenders won't re-enter the country and break the law. But it's a critical step toward providing additional public safety that residents deserve.

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