Inland Empire Sheriffs Lead California in Transferring Detainees to ICE

Sheriffs in California’s Inland Empire are handing over a significantly higher share of detainees to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement than most other counties, according to a new analysis by the Mgrublian Center for Human Rights. Riverside and San Bernardino counties transferred roughly 11 percent of detainees with ICE detainers to federal custody in 2025, compared to a statewide average of just 8.5 percent.

This disparity is striking when compared to more liberal counties like Santa Clara, where fewer than 1 percent of detainees with ICE detainers were transferred. The political divide is clear: Santa Clara voted overwhelmingly for Kamala Harris in 2024, while Riverside and San Bernardino counties were nearly split or leaned slightly toward Donald Trump.

Keith Maben, a Claremont McKenna College student and head of the Immigration Task Force at the Mgrublian Center, points out that conservative counties tend to elect sheriffs who enforce immigration laws more aggressively, often cooperating closely with ICE. Riverside County’s own policies include a 2018 ICE Detainer Eligibility Worksheet listing 30 serious felonies that justify notifying ICE before releasing detainees — effectively instructing deputies to maximize ICE transfers.

The Mgrublian Center’s research also highlights how formal agreements between local law enforcement and federal agencies, such as Riverside’s memorandums of understanding with Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Border Patrol, correlate with higher transfer rates. These partnerships suggest a prioritization of federal immigration enforcement that runs counter to California’s 2017 Values Act, which was designed to restrict such cooperation.

Eddie Torres, policy director at the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, calls the transfer rates in Riverside and San Bernardino “alarming,” underscoring the human cost of these policies in a region already grappling with immigrant rights struggles.

This data not only exposes the stark enforcement divide within California but also reveals how local political choices translate into life-altering consequences for detainees facing deportation. As California continues to wrestle with ICE’s expanding reach, Inland Empire sheriffs stand out as key enforcers of a harsh immigration crackdown that flies in the face of statewide protections.