LOS ANGELES (AP) — The new Los Angeles County sheriff will limit when inmates in the county’s jails can be transferred to federal authorities for deportation.
Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Nicole Nishida says the agency on Friday will reduce the number of misdemeanor charges that can trigger an inmate’s transfer. She could not immediately say which misdemeanor charges would no longer qualify.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva previously said he would bar Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from entering department facilities to conduct civil immigration matters. Nishida says that directive took effect this month.
Previously, federal immigration agents would interview inmates who they suspected were in the country illegally.
Villanueva won an upset victory last year to run the nation’s largest sheriff’s department.
A message was left for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.