Santa Clara County is restricting access to Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas, in a reversal that follows a series of confrontations involving federal immigration agents outside the jail. The Sheriff's Office has cordoned off the Elmwood parking lot, limiting entry to people with scheduled visits, attorneys visiting clients, service providers and cleaning services, according to San José Spotlight. Visitors must present an identification card and explain the purpose of their visit. The policy began on Friday and is in effect indefinitely, sheriff officials said.

Source: San José Spotlight

“Our responsibility is to maintain a safe and secure environment for everyone who comes to Elmwood, including staff, visitors, service providers and those leaving our custody,” Sheriff Bob Jonsen said in a statement. “These changes are intended to improve safety, reduce disruptions and ensure the facility can continue operating effectively while respecting the rights of all individuals.”

How the reversal came about

The move marks a change of position. Sheriff officials had previously said they could not interfere with law enforcement operations, even though county policy bars U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from using county property for staging and arrests — a policy that includes raising physical barriers and locking gates to stop federal agents from unlawfully using county properties for surveillance. The new cordon is the county putting that policy into physical effect at Elmwood.

The pressure built over the past week. ICE observers said about 10 to 12 agents were at the county jails every day last week — standing inside the lobbies, staging in parking lots and driving around county offices at both Elmwood and the Main Jail in San Jose. On Wednesday, October 28, at about 10 p.m., Rapid Response Network volunteers confirmed that ICE agents pursued a car leaving Elmwood carrying two men just released from jail; the men ran, agents pursued them on foot and used a Taser on one of them, according to an observer on the scene. He was taken to Regional Medical Center in East San Jose and released later that morning. Two nights later, observers reported a second injury from force used by federal agents, in which a volunteer went to the hospital.

Source: San José Spotlight / Palo Alto Online

On Monday night, community members gathered again outside Elmwood, some wearing masks because they feared being identified while helping people released from custody. Santa Clara County Executive James Williams confirmed the increase directly: “In the last week or so, we've seen a significant increase,” Williams told KGO-TV, adding that county officials were not notified ahead of time. “We are firm in our noncooperation policies,” he said, emphasizing that county resources are not being used to assist ICE. Orange barriers now block entry points at the facility unless visitors have a reason to enter.

Source: KGO-TV

Advocates: a step, but not enough

Huy Tran, executive director of the Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN) — one of 10 organizations in the Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network, which documents ICE activity and provides emergency legal aid — said it is too soon to tell whether the policy will stop people being detained as they leave Elmwood. ICE agents are still present around the jail, he said, and people picking up released individuals are also barred from the lot. “We appreciate that the sheriff is trying to be responsive to what's happening,” Tran told San José Spotlight. “But at least for what we're seeing right now, it's really just not enough. We need the county to step it up in terms of enforcing its own no staging policies.” Volunteers outside the jail made the same point to KGO: the barriers stop ICE getting in, but also stop family members and volunteers who offer rides home.

Background matters here. The federal presence in the county has grown since President Donald Trump announced a deployment to California at the beginning of October, ahead of the elections, according to San José Spotlight. The Rapid Response Network says its hotline calls have surged in recent weeks, and advocates protested on Saturday at a Morgan Hill motel where they said agents were staying; Tran said the agents left before the protest began. Santa Clara County's noncooperation stance is long-standing: the county bars its employees from assisting federal civil immigration enforcement, and the Sheriff's Office says it does not coordinate with ICE, share release dates or have advance knowledge of its operations — agents have been able to work from publicly posted release lists instead.

For the South Bay's large immigrant communities — including Punjabi and Sikh families across San Jose, Milpitas, Fremont and the wider Silicon Valley, many of whom have relatives who have passed through Elmwood, a facility that houses medium- and minimum-security men and women at all security levels — the practical effect is immediate: a jail pickup is now a checkpoint, and families say the fear travels home with the person released.

What happens next

The restriction is indefinite. County Executive Williams said the county is continuing to monitor the situation and will take further action when necessary: “The county will continue to take appropriate action to protect the safety and well-being of everyone who enters, works in or receives services at our facilities, and we will enforce county policies prohibiting the use of county property for unauthorized purposes,” he told San José Spotlight. Advocates, for their part, say they will keep gathering outside the facility. “Our goal is to make sure people don't get separated from their families,” one volunteer told KGO.