More than 100 protesters filled the Marin County Board of Supervisors chamber Tuesday, Sept. 29, demanding an ordinance barring ICE from using county property or staff without a judicial warrant.
The demonstration at the Civic Center in San Rafael came the same day County Executive Derek Johnson told supervisors his staff is already drafting a separate policy to restrict immigration enforcement on county grounds. The meeting was reported by Bay City News.
Johnson said county resources would never be used to further federal immigration enforcement. The draft policy would require all county employees to notify the county executive within 24 hours of any immigration enforcement activity they become aware of on county property.
Two tracks, no commitment
The county's internal policy and the protesters' proposed ICE-Free Marin ordinance overlap but differ in scope. The ordinance, drafted by the No ICE in Marin Coalition of 14 community organizations led by the Marin County chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, would go further. It would require the county to post signs and barriers restricting ICE from entering county property. It would also allow the county counsel to seek a court order if ICE disregards directives.
DSA spokesperson Courtney Sadowski told Bay City News the coalition has spoken with Supervisors Eric Lucan, Mary Sackett, Dennis Rodoni and Stephanie Moulton-Peters. Sadowski said none of the four supervisors has committed to introducing the ordinance. The coalition has packed the supervisors' chamber each month since December 2025 to press its case.
$1.5 million and counting
The board has committed $1.5 million to immigration-related services across three separate $500,000 allocations in June 2025, March 2026 and June 2026, according to a statement from Supervisor Rodoni's office. That money funds legal services, family support programs and emergency assistance.
At the March 2026 Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds (TRUTH) Act forum, Sheriff Jamie Scardina reported that 23 people were referred to ICE in 2025, up from 14 in 2024. The San Rafael Police Department made 12 of those arrests, and the Marin County Sheriff's Office made four, according to NorCal Public Media.
Voices from the chamber
Hector Garcia, a community library specialist with the Marin County Free Library, told supervisors he recently completed a Department of Justice certification. It will let him provide immigration legal services at the library for people who cannot afford private attorneys. "It would be impossible for me to fulfill this job with the presence of ICE," Garcia said.
Lisa Bennett of the Marin Rapid Response Network, a nonprofit that helps families locate detained relatives, described the toll on households that lose a breadwinner to detention. She said children worry about food, utilities, medical care and whether a remaining parent will be taken next.
State action on the same day
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed more than 20 bills on Sept. 29 that increase state oversight of federal immigration enforcement. The package creates a 25 percent tax on private detention centers, limits use of state-owned property for federal immigration operations and protects people traveling to courthouses from civil immigration arrests.
The county also announced in February 2026 that its 2026–28 budget does not include State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) funding. SCAAP reimburses costs for jailing immigrants lacking permanent legal status.
The coalition says its next action is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 13.
