Some San Luis Obispo County residents are worried that the Board of Supervisors’ approval of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant for the Sheriff’s Office could encourage local law enforcement to bolster Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
“I think it’s a naïve amount of optimism to believe that what the sheriff is getting is not going to be used for immigration enforcement to some degree,” resident Rita Casaverde told New Times. “I think there is a difference in commentary from the Democrat and Republican supervisors, but today they voted the same.”
Worth $316,482, the unanimously approved funding comes from the $373.5 million State Homeland Security program for fiscal year 2024. The program is part of the larger $1 billion Homeland Security grant program that aims to prevent, mitigate, and respond to terrorist acts and other threats, according to the Department of Homeland Security website.
SLO County, through the Office of Emergency Services, plans to use the money for equipment like helmet-mounted night vision binoculars, drones, and door-breaching tools for the Sheriff’s Office and regional SWAT teams; mercury vapor monitoring equipment, a methane gas leak detector, and an ultrasonic leak detector for county fire; and plexiglass security barriers and electronic door access control locks for the county elections office.
The county slotted the grant approval as a consent agenda item for the Aug. 5 Board of Supervisors meeting. But the topic drew attention from people like Casaverde who spoke out against the green light during public comment and through letters to the supervisors.
“It also directly conflicts with California SB 56 law, which prohibits our local law enforcement from using resources to assist federal agencies like ICE,” county resident Debbie Appelbaum told supervisors. “Given that peaceful protesters have been labeled as ‘domestic violent extremists,’ accepting this grant could lead to surveillance of First Amendment activities in our community.”
Central Coast farmworkers and unauthorized immigrants are on high alert because of immigration enforcement activity across the country under the Trump administration. Reportedly, ICE agents are increasingly wearing masks during raids and arrests—a practice that’s caused controversy because of the anonymity granted to agents.
According to a U.S. deportation tracker created by NBC News, 56,579 migrants are in ICE detention facilities as of Aug. 1. The Tribune reported in June that ICE made 40 arrests of suspected undocumented immigrants at farms in Oxnard and Santa Maria. In July, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors criticized the lack of information surrounding the ICE raids at Glass House Farms sites in Carpinteria and Camarillo.
SLO County Sheriff Ian Parkinson told the Board of Supervisors that misinformation about local law enforcement’s interaction with ICE is rampant.
“The money is passed through the state, passed through to us,” he said. “If there was suspicion of something being given specifically for immigration enforcement, I don’t think it would get approved through the state.”
Parkinson added that law enforcement’s contact with ICE changed with the passage of the Trust Act, which prohibits a law enforcement official from detaining someone beyond the point they become eligible for release from custody if ICE requests an immigration hold for them.
Last year, the Sheriff’s Office received eight such requests from ICE. One person signed off on the release form to speak with the federal agency, according to Parkinson.
“The only contact that I can have with ICE about an arrestee in jail is if that person has committed and convicted of one of the given violent felonies,” he said. “There is a federal warrant … signed by a federal judge … saying this person must be detained. … Those are the only exceptions.”
Office of Emergency Services Director Scotty Jalbert told New Times that the Homeland Security grant has been around since 2001, back when it was called the State Domestic Preparedness Equipment program. SLO County applied for the grant in 2024.
“Please remember that DHS is bigger than ICE,” Jalbert said. “It also includes Customs and Border Protection, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, then Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, Cybersecurity, and the Secret Service.”
The supervisors stressed that the grant doesn’t come with “strings attached” to aid ICE.
While 2nd District Supervisor Bruce Gibson and 4th District Supervisor Jimmy Paulding thanked the Sheriff’s Office for its efforts, they objected to the way in which ICE detained people.
“What we’ve seen from ICE is inhumane, it’s illegal, it’s immoral, and frankly, it’s un-American,” Gibson said. “In these chambers, we typically have the sycophants of the Trump administration coming to tell us how wonderful things are … and they were notably silent this day.”
Third District Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg said that the board supports the immigrant community “completely,” and issued advice to the public.
“Let’s try really hard to avoid hyperbolic approaches to things, and when it comes to this grant in particular, understanding that DHS and the pictures that we see today is different from the DHS [that] was there to help in terrorist attacks,” she said.
First District Supervisor John Peschong and 5th District Supervisor Heather Moreno didn’t comment on immigration enforcement. Moreno recommended the public attend National Night Out to mingle with local law enforcement.
“I do not believe that [by] accepting this money that I’m losing the trust of the community I was elected to represent,” Peschong said. “I do trust our District Attorney Dan Dow, I do trust our Sheriff Ian Parkinson, and I do trust our Emergency Services Director Mr. Jalbert.”
Casaverde, who is the former SLO County Democratic Party chair, said she is dissatisfied with the board’s response.
“It’s disappointing that they said that the sheriff is doing a good job,” she said. “[The Sheriff’s Office] is not communicating information about ICE properly. Only people in the know are aware. Supervisor Peschong mentioned the District Attorney when we know the District Attorney went on Fox News recently applauding the DHS.” Δ
This article appears in Education Today 2025.