A California county shut down its own jail Tuesday evening rather than release inmates while federal immigration agents waited outside, setting up a public standoff between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local officials one week before the Nov. 3 election.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office placed the jail in Salinas on lockdown around 5:40 p.m. local time, suspending new bookings and all inmate releases and closing the facility to the public except for attorneys, according to the sheriff’s office statement reported by KSBW and Monterey County Weekly. The office said the measures were taken “out of an abundance of caution to ensure everybody’s safety,” according to Bay City News, as published by SFGate.
Monterey County Supervisor Goes Face to Face With ICE Outside the Jail
Update on Salinas. Monterey County Supervisor Wendy Root Askew went out to the jail herself and argued face to face with an ICE agent.
According to KSBW, the fight was over releasing inmates while the… https://t.co/8JnY8DDhVT pic.twitter.com/vJ0nwcqNf3
— Katie K USA (@KimKatieUSA) October 28, 2026
A person who identified themself as an ICE operative told KSBW that agents were conducting a “targeted operation” involving people at the jail. According to KSBW, the agents were waiting to take one or more people into custody when they were released.
Supervisor confronts agent on camera
KSBW video captured Monterey County Supervisor Wendy Root Askew walking out to the agents and telling one of them the people inside were “probably not coming out.” Askew said she had spoken with the sheriff, according to KSBW, and told the agent, “They will not be released in a location where ICE is present.”
The agent pushed back, according to the KSBW video. “So to be clear: Because we are here, the folks that are in there that would otherwise be legally allowed out there, Fourth Amendment rights are being violated by the sheriff to keep them in there?” the agent asked, according to KSBW. When the agent asked whether that was “over a county policy,” Askew replied that the county policy is “just about staging of immigration enforcement,” KSBW reported.
Sanctuary rules behind the standoff
In September, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to bar county property from being used as a staging area, processing location or operations base for federal civil immigration enforcement, according to Monterey County Weekly. KSBW reported that the policy includes exceptions for the lawful execution of a judicial warrant and for criminal enforcement.
The sheriff’s office said in a statement Monday night that it had not been notified of the federal activity behind the jail and could not verify who was involved or the operation’s purpose, according to Bay City News, as published by SFGate. The office noted that federal agencies are not required to notify it when conducting independent operations, and said it remains committed to complying with California’s sanctuary law, SB 54, and the TRUTH Act, according to the same statement.
Rocks thrown as agents left
About 50 people, including legal observers, immigration lawyers, protesters and local politicians, gathered outside the jail’s sallyport gate, according to Monterey County Weekly. The outlet reported that ICE agents left around 6:30 p.m. after several hours, and that as they drove away some protesters grabbed rocks and threw them at the federal vehicles. KSBW reported that some protesters shouted profanities at the agents.
Monterey County Weekly, citing a local rapid-response network, reported that one person was detained Tuesday afternoon while leaving a county health clinic on the government campus next to the jail. Separately, county officials said reports of ICE activity at nearby Natividad Medical Center were false, according to Bay City News via SFGate.
The Department of Homeland Security declined to discuss the operation, citing operational security and officer safety, according to KSBW. DHS told the station it enforces federal law daily in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties and pointed to five people it described as public safety threats arrested by ICE in California, without saying where they were arrested, KSBW reported.
No arrests at the jail itself were reported, and neither ICE nor the county has publicly identified the inmates agents were seeking.
Sources
- KSBW: Confrontation between ICE agent, Monterey County supervisor
- KSBW: Monterey County jail placed on lockdown
- Monterey County Weekly: Dozens protest ICE presence at jail
- SFGate/Bay City News: County jail on lockdown
- SFGate/Bay City News: Officials deny ICE at Natividad
Sources cited
- https://www.ksbw.com/article/confrontation-ice-monterey-county-supervisor-jail/74266406
- https://www.ksbw.com/article/protesters-monterey-county-jail-ice-operation/74265916
- https://www.montereycountynow.com/blogs/news_blog/dozens-of-people-protest-ice-presence-at-monterey-county-jail/article_e2c81955-1201-4447-94a2-5ce72b9b3ec5.html
- https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/salinas-county-jail-on-lockdown-tuesday-evening-22497678.php
- https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/monterey-co-county-officials-deny-reports-of-22498284.php
Sources
- Original post: Katie K USA (@KimKatieUSA) on X, Oct 28, 2026
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