In the first half of 2026, at least 38 people were transferred into ICE custody from the San Luis Obispo County Jail, according to new data from the Sheriff’s Office.
If that rate continues through the end of this year, the county will outpace last year’s transfers by 19 people.
The Sheriff’s Office releases information on inmates released into the custody of federal immigration enforcement each month, and published June’s numbers last Friday.
The numbers only include people who were transferred because they qualified under an exception in state law, which would normally block such a move.
Senate Bill 54, also known as the California Values Act, allows local law enforcement to transfer an inmate over to immigration authorities without a judicial warrant — but only if the person has committed one of a list of crimes.
According to the Sheriff’s Office’s dashboard, the qualifying charges cited in 2026 to justify transfers range from muder to re-entry after deportation.
The Sheriff’s Office began publishing the monthly data after a contentious public meeting in January. According to the Truth Act, the office is only required to present information on the topic once a year.
Arrests by federal immigration agents at the SLO County Jail have fluctuated since the beginning of President Trump’s second term.
ICE arrests there peaked in September last year, according to the Deportation Data Project, which compiles records from federal agencies through public records requests.
Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that ICE launched a surge in late June. According to the Times, daily arrests roughly doubled over that period, and officials have said they want that pace to be maintained.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office did not respond in time to KCBX’s questions about June’s data on ICE transfers.
