Dems panic at a 15 cent per gallon gas tax

Democrat Tax Increases Are Coming

• Four months before the election some Democrat in the People's Republic are in a panic that the "greenhouse gas" policies they demanded are going to increase taxes on the voters. 
• The real question is:  "Are voters stupid enough to re-elect these Bullshit artists?"  To that I bellow a resounding YES!

(Fox News)  -  A group of California Democrats is having second thoughts about the state's expanding cap-and-trade program, urging Gov. Jerry Brown's administration to rethink the plan out of concern that it will drive up gas prices and hurt low-income residents.

The Golden State already has the program in place -- which caps greenhouse gas emissions and requires companies to buy permits in order to breach those caps -- but right now it only applies to power plants and other heavy manufacturers. Next year, California is set to expand the regulations to transportation fuels.

 

Sixteen state Democratic lawmakers wrote a letter to the head of the California Air Resources Board earlier this month warning this could trigger a cost increase of roughly 15 cents per gallon of gasoline.

The Assembly Democrats said they were "concerned" about the impact on their constituents, and urged the state to either delay the expansion or "change the program" to minimize the impact at the pump.

"Fuel prices for consumers are going to be driven up once fuel is covered under cap-and-trade at the start of next year, weakening the economy just as California is recovering from the last recession, and hurting the most vulnerable members of our communities who must commute to work and drive long distances for necessary services like medical care," they wrote.

The letter signals a break in the Democratic ranks over California's robust cap-and-trade program -- something Democrats at the national level have been unable to push through Congress.

California already has the highest average gas prices -- topping out at over $4 per gallon -- in the continental United States. The prospect of that price rising higher still has lawmakers of both parties concerned it could stunt economic growth at a fragile time.

The letter sent earlier this month warned that, at a time when many areas are still struggling with double-digit unemployment, the plan to could be "putting the brakes on our economic recovery." The expansion is set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2015.

Assemblymember Henry Perea, among those who signed the letter, said in a statement that the plan would take money "out of the pockets of hard working Californians who drive to work or school and make necessary trips to the grocery store or doctor's office."

Environmentalists and others pushing the change, though, argue that higher gas prices are needed to change people's driving habits.

Tim Donnelly beat Jerry Brown in two counties

By Gary;

The Secretary of State is still counting votes, but as of now Republican State Assemblyman Tim Donnelly beat Democrat Jerry Brown in two counties:  Modoc and Lassen in far Northern California.

That is certainly better than the GOP "Establishment" candidate Neel Kashkari who carried nothing and will be abandoned by his Republican establishment supporters in November to twist slowly in the wind.

I have not  totally made up my mind, but as of today I am planning to skip over the race for Governor and not vote at all.

The "moderate" GOP Establishment has stated that they want nothing to do with Conservatism.  They acted to abolish the GOP primary to reduce our power and also to eliminate all smaller political parties and independent candidates on the November ballot so we are unable to cast any protect votes against them.

I say Fuck 'em.

If they are screwing over our right to vote for who we want then I will withhold my vote from their boot-licking lackey candidate.

 

Source:  California Secretary of State

50% of Californians think Obama does a good job

California - A State Gone Mad!

• Dead Vets in the VA system, IRS targeting of free speech, fascist NSA 1984 spying, Obamacare Socialist anarchy, a foreign policy in collapse.  Nothing matters to the liberal Sheeple of the People's Republic as they line up to lick the boots of Dear Leader.
• Even 21% of Republicans either have no opinion or support Obama.

The People's Republic of California  -  Despite political fallout from his prisoner exchange, the unfolding scandal in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and growing unrest in the Middle East, President Barack Obama has maintained encouraging job ratings in California, where he’s buoyed by a scarcity of Republicans, according to the new Field Poll.

Half of California voters support the president’s job performance, with 39 percent disapproving. The figures released Tuesday contrast sharply with the nationwide average that shows 42 percent approving and 54 percent expressing an unfavorable opinion reports the Fresno Bee.

Obama’s approval rating here has held steady since dropping 10 percentage points – to 52 percent – over a five-month period ending last July. The record-high of 65 percent was approached only by a “second honeymoon” following his re-election two years ago, said Mark DiCamillo, the poll’s director.

While the bloom has worn off a bit, in only 2 of 19 surveys has Obama’s approval percentage fallen below 50 percent. That can largely be attributed to the Democratic Party’s strong advantage in registered voters as well as the state’s diverse ethnic composition.

“Here in California, you see the same very partisan views of Obama, but we just have more Democrats,” DiCamillo said. “You see white, non-Hispanics generally viewing him negatively, but that’s a smaller chunk of the public than in most other areas of the country because we have large numbers of Latinos, Asian Americans and African Americans, collectively. And it’s those voters that are much more positive about Obama.”
.
Read More . . . .

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/06/24/3992898/amid-turmoil-obamas-approval-remains.html#storylink=cpy

Making a living from filing lawsuits - "Legal" Shakedown Artists

Ken Hildebrand and Don Lee, owners of the Barnwood Restaurant in Ripon, had to close its doors because they did not have the funds to fight a federal ADA lawsuit.
ANDY ALFARO — Modesto Bee.

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/2014/06/21/3403269/wave-of-disability-lawsuits-threatens.html?sp=/99/1571/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy

"Corruptus in Extremis"

• Wave of disability lawsuits threatens small businesses in Stanislaus County.
• It’s easy to find American with Disabilities Act "problems".  An attorney recently stood in a Modesto coffee merchant’s parking lot, looked about and observed eight probable violations, he said; that could represent a $32,000 payoff, he said, because California law permits minimum damages of $4,000 per ADA violation.
• Brad Wungluck said companies in Manteca, where he is the city’s senior building inspector, have been hit with 35 lawsuits in 11 weeks.

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/2014/06/21/3403269/wave-of-disability-lawsuits-threatens.html?sp=/99/1571/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/2014/06/21/3403269/wave-of-disability-lawsuits-threatens.html?sp=/99/1571/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy

(Editor  -  This crooked bullshit has been going on for years all over California.  But the lawyer controlled state legislature and Congress does nothing.  After all this corruption lines the pockets of their buddies in the so-called legal "profession".  The "justice" system has nothing to do with justice.  It exists to line and pockets of attorneys.)


(Modesto Bee)  -  A rash of discrimination lawsuits against small businesses appears to be spreading south from Sacramento through Stockton, Manteca and Ripon to Stanislaus County’s literal doorstep.

The latest wave swamped Barnwood Restaurant, a familiar Highway 99 sight that closed a few days ago after its owners were sued by a disabled woman claiming that its parking lot and bathrooms weren’t wheelchair-friendly.

The woman has brought 25 such lawsuits in the past two years, a Modesto Bee review found, including 15 this year and five in the past month. . Her Stockton attorney said he has filed about 46 recent cases alleging violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

None targeted companies in Stanislaus County, he said, but added that he simply responds to clients’ complaints and does not control where they operate.

“I do believe the disabled have a right to equal access and it’s not something people should take lightly,” attorney Daniel Malakauskas said.

Others see mass production of legal challenges as a shakedown, often aimed at small-business owners whose easiest solution may be coughing up a few thousand dollars to make a threat go away.

“This is big money for these people,” said Rick Morin, a Sacramento attorney whose website encourages people to “fight baseless demands.”

Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen, R-Riverbank, noting the southward march of lawsuits, said professional plaintiffs are “on a rampage.”

She is sounding a warning to companies that might find themselves on the wrong end of “get-rich-quick schemes, where they’re literally driving by a storefront and taking pictures. It has nothing to do with a desire for getting things fixed and everything to do with generating income.”

In the Barnwood’s case, nothing got fixed, those suing got nothing and Ripon ended up with one less restaurant.

“We dumped every penny we had into the place and had no money to fight this,” said Don Lee, who took over the eatery with co-owner Ken Hildebrand about a year ago. “We were stuck, so we decided to close the doors.”

Lee said a server last month noticed a woman taking pictures outside, and three days later, he and Hildebrand were served with the lawsuit.

The document identifies Cynthia Hopson as a special education teacher who uses a scooter. The lawsuit found numerous faults with the Barnwood’s parking spaces, handrails, wheelchair ramp, entrance and restroom access.

“She never even tried to come in the building,” Lee said. “They don’t really care whether they’re fixing things for ADA. What they really care about is their little payday.”

Hopson also sued Escalon City Hall last year, saying she and her husband “encountered barriers” that interfered with watching their grandson’s soccer game at a city park. They visited five other city facilities and put problems with all in a federal complaint.

Dozens of media reports over many years have profiled a handful of California attorneys specializing in ADA action, including a 2006 Sacramento Bee review of 10 who had filed thousands of lawsuits. A Carmichael paraplegic attorney named Scott Johnson, for example, routinely settled cases for $4,000 to $6,000, while Chico attorney Lynn Hubbard III typically asked for $40,000, the paper found.

Olsen said one local defendant was asked to pay $78,000.

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/2014/06/21/3403269/wave-of-disability-lawsuits-threatens.html?sp=/99/1571/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy

California's drought getting even worse and we keep adding millions of new residents



National Weather Service released a U.S. Drought Monitor update, which shows
that drought conditions have worsened over the last week.

 

California is going down

• Democrat or Republican, it does not matter.  Neither party really gives a damn about long term conservation as countless millions of new people (water users) come to the desert called California.
• Droughts can last decades or even centuries.  Instead of building desalination plants to create new water the political hacks want to suck dry the Sacramento Delta or add a couple feet to the tops of damns and pray for new water in the form of rain that may not come.
• Californians keep draining dry our natural water supplies creating an ever larger desert.

California's drought conditions have worsened over the past week with the percentage of the state suffering from the highest category increasing, the National Weather Service said Thursday.

"Exceptional" drought conditions have spread in Central California since a week ago, weather officials said. Areas in Northern California have also moved into this category since last week, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Almost 33% of the state faces exceptional conditions. About 25% of the state faced those conditions last week reports the Los Angeles Times.

Every part of California remains in what is considered severe drought.
.
A year ago, no part of the state was in exceptional drought conditions, the weather service said.
.
The drought has prompted water conservation efforts as well as rationing in some parts of the state. L.A. saw record dry conditions this winter, and snowfall in the Sierras has also been significantly down.

A Man-Made Desert
Tulare Lake was the largest US freshwater lake west of the Mississippi until it was sucked dry into a man-made desert.
.
Tulare Lake was once the receptacle of the watershed on the lower San Joaquin Valley and became, like the Sacramento Delta, the site of systematic transformation by agricultural land speculation of a riparian ecosystem. It was home to the Yokuts Indian Nation and the destination of the southernmost runs of spawning Chinook Salmon.

Yokuts on Tulare Lake  

TULARE the Phantom Lake

The Kern River "feeding" Lake Tulare
Passing through Bakersfield, the Kern River has been sucked dry by man.  No fishing, no water for animals and no water for Lake Tulare.
(Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
KPBS.org

The Sinking Central Valley
It has taken thousands and thousands of years for unground water to build up in California.  In only a few decades cities and agribusiness have drained those supplies so much that the Central Valley is sinking.
.
About 30 percent of California’s water supply comes from underground supplies, more during droughts. Eighty percent of state residents rely to some degree on groundwater. Some towns, cities and farming operations depend entirely on it.
.
See our article San Joaquin Valley is sinking as groundwater stores are depleted

The Future of California.
.
"You're a plague and we are the cure."

 

"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure."

Agent Smith - The Matrix

Governor George Clooney? - Why the Hell not?

Governor Clooney?

• Could he possible be any worse than the bozos running the People's Republic today?
• Plus Clooney needs to be given major credit in standing up against the “Darfur Genocide” of Christians in the Sudan.

Democrat George Clooney is planning to run for Governor of California, according to his friends.
.

The actor, a noted political activist, is said to be be making the same move as fellow actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and planning the career change after he weds Briton Amal Alamuddin in September.

 

Clooney, 53, is known to have numerous political contacts - and even counts president Barack Obama as a close friend.
.

The actor and director's friends say the president's Democrat party now want him to run for office in the 2018 race.

 

Clooney once famously declared he could never run for public office because he’d ‘slept with too many women, done too many drugs and been to too many parties’.

He has often played politicians in his career - including the character of Governor Mike Morris in 2011 film The Ides of March.

 

'George is hugely popular with the Democrats and where better a place to put him than as the Governor of California the home of Hollywood,' a friend told the Sunday Mirror.
.

'It has always been a huge stronghold for the party and one that has a proven record for getting politicians in to the Oval office.

'Now that Amal is by his side it has boosted his credentials even higher.
.

'She is as far removed as some of the girls he has previously dated and possesses incredible intelligence that bodes well if she ever does become First Lady.'

 

It was confirmed that the couple were engaged earlier this month following an eight-month romance and are said to be hoping to host their upcoming nuptials in the Italian city in September, exactly one year to the day after they met.
.

Ronald Reagan was voted in to the White House after becoming governor of the Golden State and if Clooney was successful in gaining victory in California it would put him on course to follow his lead.

Read more: Daily Mail.

 

Governor and Senator
GOP Actor and future California Governor Ronald Reagan with
actor and future U.S. Senator George Murphy.
.
Hollywood and politics has been a long tradition.

 

Congressman Sonny Bono
With Cher in the olden days.  Sonny became a GOP Congressman
for the Palm Springs area.

 

Mayor Clint Eastwood
California has a long tradition of actors in politics including
Republican Clint who served as Mayor of Carmel.

 

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Yes, a Republican but not much good to say about his term.

California Apartheid - Tribe splits into armed camps over casino profits

The California Apartheid

• The fruit of Democrat supported racism is coming home to roost as Indians fight with each other over who has the most "Pure Blood".
• By a racist California law only the American Indian racial group in allowed to own a gambling business.

The Rolling Hills Casino, opened in 2002, has transformed the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians into a wealthy nation. Every adult member of the Tehama County tribe gets $54,000 a year, and kids receive trust funds and scholarships. Casino profits paid for the tribe’s $3 million jet and more than 162 ounces of gold.

Now, Tribal Chairman Andy Freeman and about 60 angry tribal members are asking: Where’s the jet? Where’s the gold?

They stormed the Bureau of Indian Affairs office on Capitol Mall in Sacramento on Thursday to accuse the tribe’s economic development officer, former Sacramento FBI agent John Crosby, and treasurer and Tribal Council member Leslie Lohse of embezzling close to $10 million.

They’ve also accused Lohse, Crosby and Tribal Council members Geraldine Freeman and David Swearinger of launching a cyberattack on the casino, freezing some machines and forcing the casino staff to make all payouts by hand reports the Sacramento Bee.

Crosby and Lohse have fired back, saying they didn’t embezzle anything, and accusing the faction led by Andy Freeman of stealing all the tribal records and computers and hiring its own security force armed with AR-15s to take over the casino in a military-style operation.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/15/6484218/northern-california-tribe-splits.html#storylink=cpy

Andy Freeman says Crosby, Lohse and about 40 members of the Henthorne, Crosby and Pata families have had their tribal membership and benefits suspended because they are not legitimate tribal members. The other side counters that it’s still in charge and has a letter from Troy Burdick, the BIA’s Central California superintendent, to prove it.

The bitter dispute over who runs the 216-member nation is one of a dozen intertribal feuds playing out in California Indian country, often involving casinos that gross hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Since these tribes are recognized as sovereign nations by the U.S. government, they have the right to pass their own laws and constitutions.  They decide who’s in charge, who’s a member – and who’s not – and who gets a slice of casino revenue that can exceed $1 million a year per member.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/15/6484218/northern-california-tribe-splits.html#storylink=cpy

Festering family rivalries and power struggles often boil to the surface, and several thousand California Indians have been disenrolled in the last decade, said Rick Cuevas, one of more than 300 members disenrolled from the Pechanga nation in Riverside in 2006. Those disputes can turn violent, and Lohse said she fears “another Cedarville.”

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/15/6484218/northern-california-tribe-splits.html#storylink=cpy

Read More . . . .

Racism in Action
Priscilla Delara, center, was one of a busload from the Paskenta band of Nomlaki Indians protesting the Bureau of Indian Affairs in front of the Federal building on July 12.
.
No better illustration of racism can be found. In order to cash in on the government granted racial gambling monopoly you have to prove that you have the proper racial group background. 
.
Photo - Renee C. Byer /  Sacramento Bee

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/15/6484218/northern-california-tribe-splits.html#storylink=cpy

Victim of Racism
Racist government policies of California Democrats say model-actress Naomi Campbell is not allowed to own a casino because she is of Afro-Jamaican and Chinese ancestry.  Simply, she was born into the wrong racial group. 
.
By a racist California law only the American Indian racial group is allowed by the government to run this type of business.  In Nevada any citizen of any race can own a casino.

Victim of Racism
Racist government policies of California Democrats say actor Frankie Muniz is not allowed to own a casino because he is of Puerto Rican and Italian ancestry.  Simply, he was born into the wrong racial group. 

Victim of Racism
Racist government policies of California Democrats say actress Alexis Bledel is not allowed to own a casino because she is of Mexican and Argentinian ancestry.  Simply, she was born into the wrong racial group. 

Military Recruiters Banished From San Francisco Gay Events

Gays Ban the Military

One wonders, without a military are they planning to march to the front lines themselves to defend America?

Gay Pride Weekend events will fill up Civic Center Plaza in front of San Francisco City Hall at the end of the month. Dozens of organizations will set up booths and hand out information about what they do. But this year there will be no National Guard and no California military presence — they’ve been banned by the Pride committee.

Matthew Reece, a staff sergeant with the California State Military Reserve was especially disappointed.

“To hear that we were not allowed to come this year was certainly a shock to us and quite upsetting, too coming from my standpoint being a gay man openly serving in the California State Military Reserve,” he told KPIX 5 says CBS News.

The California State Military Reserve backs up the National Guard during natural disasters. This year both the National Guard and the Military Reserve were told to stay away from San Francisco Pride events.

“We find this to be really particularly disturbing because only LGBT people in the city of San Francisco are being affected by this,” lamented Fred Schein, president of the San Francisco Log Cabin Republicans. “LGBT people around the state have full access and are welcoming these recruiters but San Francisco is being denied that option,” he said.

Reece confirmed that National Guard and the State Military Reserve were welcomed at Pride events in Los Angeles and San Diego but not here.

Will Kevin McCarthy replace Eric Cantor?

The Next House Majority Leader?

• Bakersfield's Kevin McCarthy has worked tirelessly to elect Republicans around the country.  Now he is in line to replace Eric Cantor.

(Los Angeles Times)  -  Will House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s stunning fall result in a rise in congressional influence for California?

Maybe, because the lawmaker perhaps best positioned to fill Cantor’s job is Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from Bakersfield.

McCarthy, the current majority whip, hasn’t said yet if he intends to make a run for the Cantor post, but Capitol insiders say they would be shocked if he did not.

McCarthy is a prodigious fundraiser who, along with Cantor, helped orchestrate the GOP takeover of the House in 2010.

He has quickly risen through the ranks of his caucus since arriving in Congress in 2008. Many of the tea partiers who have grown restless with other GOP leaders give him a pass because he avoids arm-twisting as he gathers votes on the floor, the chief role of the whip.

And McCarthy has nearly $2.9 million in his campaign war chest -- one of the largest in the House -- which he can use to help colleagues win reelection in midterm elections this November, a sure-fire way to bolster support. 

"Kevin starts out as the front-runner,’’ said Kurt Bardella, a Republican strategist and former congressional staffer. "Kevin is all about coalition building and building personal relationships with members of his caucus.’’

 

Still, McCarthy would face considerable competition should he pursue Cantor’s post. Contenders will likely make the case that fresh blood is needed at the top to forge a new, unified path for the caucus.

Some say McCarthy is not conservative enough.

"It’s got to be somebody outside the current leadership structure,”  said Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.), a tea partier. "They just don’t listen.’’

Potential rivals include Reps. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, a former House Republican Conference chairman; Steve Scalise of Louisiana, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, an influential group of conservatives; Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Budget Committee and a former GOP vice presidential candidate; Tom Price of Georgia, a former chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee; and Pete Sessions of Texas, chairman of the House Rules Committee.

Kevin McCarthy's 23rd Congressional District
Massively popular in his Kern and Tulare County based district, McCarthy ran unopposed in 2008, 2010 and is running unopposed yet again in 2014.

.

California's 23rd congressional district election, 2012
Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kevin McCarthy (incumbent)	71,109	72.2%
	No party preference	Terry Phillips	17,018	17.3%
	Republican	Eric Parker	10,414	10.6%
Totals			98,541	100.0%
General election
	Republican	Kevin McCarthy (incumbent)	158,161	73.2%
	No party preference	Terry Phillips	57,842	26.8%
Totals			216,003	100.0%
	Republican hold

Di

Should Northern California Secede and Become the State of Jefferson?

Activists in Northern California, near the border with Oregon, are pushing to secede from the Golden State. They say they're fed up with taxes, regulation, and lack of representation. If they get their way, the country's 51st entrant would be called the State of Jefferson.

"The three major urban areas dictate politics for the entire state," says Mark Baird of the Jefferson Declaration Committee. "Our children are leaving, our economy is crashing, we are taxed, every breath we take is regulated, and we feel that a free state will cure that."

To date, five county governments have signed on the plan and more may be joining up.

"We can't afford to run a California style beauracracy, that is true," says Baird. "But as a small rural state, we don't want to. "

The idea of secession in California isn't new. During the Great Depression, folks started pushing a similar plan in the same part of the state but threw in the towel after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Both California's state legislature and the U.S. Congress would have to approve the plan to make Jefferson more than a pipe dream. That's not going to happen any time soon, but Northern California's separatist movement is worth exploring as a way of pushing back against a distant and unresponsive government.

Jefferson State.com

Voters in one far Northern California county defeated a measure to call for the creation of a 51st state named Jefferson while those in a neighboring county responded more favorably to the test of whether a secessionist movement has sails in a region accustomed to feeling overlooked by the rest of California.

Del Norte County voters rejected the secessionist measure by 59 percent Tuesday, while Tehama County voters were supporting the proposal by 56 percent with ballots still being tallied.

A similar but unrelated question on the ballot in Siskiyou County, to rename it the Republic of Jefferson, failed with only 44 percent of voters in favor.

Elected officials in Glenn, Modoc, Siskiyou and Yuba counties already have voted to join in forming a new state.

San Jose Mercury News.

San Joaquin County jail to stop housing illegal aliens

 

Just Break The Law, No One Cares

FRENCH CAMP  -  The county Sheriff's Office said it is no longer holding immigration detainees in jail for U.S. immigration authorities, because detaining them could make the county liable for constitutional rights violations.

 

For years, the county had honored immigration hold requests issued by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

 

But since Jan. 1, when California laws changed in regard to immigration holds, the county stopped this practice. State law still allows jails to hold individuals on immigration detainers based on certain criteria, including their criminal history, even if they have no current criminal charges reports the Stockton Record.

 

 

But San Joaquin County won't even be doing that.

 

And that's because of two recent federal court decisions that make the detentions unlawful altogether.

.

Inmates should be held only when there is probable cause a crime has been committed, according to those rulings. Unlike criminal arrests, immigration holds are civil matters that don't require probable cause.

In effect, the rulings say law enforcement should not be involved in such civil matters.

 

So, unless an inmate is in jail on a criminal matter, the county will release that person, the Sheriff's Office said in a news release issued earlier this month.

 

"Effective immediately, all inmates currently being held solely on an immigration detainer will be released from custody," the June 2 statement from the Sheriff's Office said.

 

The way it used to work is local law enforcement agencies detained undocumented immigrants on ICE requests to allow immigration agents time to pick them up and take them to a federal detention center.

 

Deputy Les Garcia, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office, said if an inmate without legal residency is in jail on a criminal matter, once the inmate completes a sentence or the case is adjudicated, that person will be released. In the past, the jail would hold them for immigration officials.

 

"I think that's a great shift in policy," said Jose Rodriguez, director of El Concilio, a Latino multiservice agency. "I think it's been a long time overdue.