LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday the Board of Supervisors discussed concerns about impacts on the immigrant community due to changes in federal law enforcement policy but took no formal action.

District 4 Supervisor Tina Scott asked the board to hold the discussion in the wake of concerns from the immigrant community that undocumented workers are under threat of deportation. “I wanted the community to know which side the board sits on.”

She said she’d been told it’s an issue that shouldn’t be brought up for discussion out of concern for bringing attention to the county, adding that she wasn’t asking for the board to take action to declare sanctuary status.

“I just want the people of Lake County to know that we will not stand for acts of hate or discrimination. We are better than this,” she said.

She added, “I am a firm believer that if you don’t stand up for what you believe in, you might as well be standing up against it.”

Supervisor Rob Brown said he had spoken with Scott and that it was him who had asked why it was being brought up. That was for multiple reasons, including compromising some funding to the county and giving the public an impression that the board is going to create a solution if no problem exists.

Scott said she has spoken to the county superintendent of schools about the matter. “We have children in fear of going to school every day,” she said, because they’re concerned their parents may be deported.

Supervisor Jim Steele said the county cannot stop the federal government from deporting people.

Scott said she and Sheriff Brian Martin attended a meeting in Sacramento with the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That official told them that it didn’t matter what communities do, that federal authorities will come in to enforce immigration policy whether local officials want them there or not.

Brown said he’s concerned that community members’ fears are elevated by discussions like the one Scott had asked take place. He said the board can’t tell law enforcement agencies what they will and won’t do.

Sheriff Martin, who participated in the discussion, said that while reports have circulated of local immigration raids, none have taken place.

He said the sheriff’s office on occasion receives detainer requests from ICE. His agency has gotten two of those requests in the last six months. They also get requests for notification when certain individuals are released from local jail custody.

While there is no mandate to follow those requests, there is the risk of blowback for not complying, he said.

Martin raised concerns about the impacts Lake County could face with regard to various grants and funding programs if it were to defy the federal government.

Referring to the meeting he had with the head of ICE last week, Martin said that official made an overly broad generalization about going after people who commit crimes.

“We are not federal immigration officers,” Martin emphasized, adding that he’s concerned about people not wanting to approach law enforcement.

He also said that the ICE official told him that if they cannot get individuals from the jails, they will go into the communities.

Brown asked how many ICE holds are now in effect in the jail. None, said Martin. Brown replied that such holds were regular occurrences in past sheriffs’ administrations.

During public comment, several community members came forward to signal their support for Scott’s intent of protecting immigrants, and some wanted to go further by declaring Lake a sanctuary county.

Lakeport resident Michael Green said other counties have become sanctuaries at the same time as there is an increase in actions being taken against minorities. “There’s a way that the county can and should stand up for the tolerance that’s being expressed right now.”

Justine Schneider of Clearlake said she understood the reluctance of having a public discussion on the matter, but she said it came down to working within the county to offer reassurance and protections.

She said anyone who has taken a look at the president’s proposed budget sees that the funding the county relies on heavily is being proposed for the chopping block.

“I don’t think that compassion is a finite resource,” she said, noting that there are a lot of vulnerable people in different populations in Lake County, and that a stand should be taken for all of those people.

Mary Borjon said she’s part of a group that met with three county law enforcement agencies about immigration-related policies.

She said her husband’s grandparents came to the United States to pursue the American dream. They walked from Central Mexico in 1917, ended up in Contra Costa County and raised eight remarkable, successful and competent children people.

Borjon said she’s worked with migrant families through Head Start, and said they have strong family values and work ethic.

Martin said his stance isn’t one he’s taking in an effort to become popular. “My decision making process really boils down to what’s best for our community,” he said, adding, “My job isn’t to enforce the federal law.”

He said he believes a resolution on immigration-related issues would be anything but symbolic.

“It’s important that the public hears if a decision is going to be made, that everything is taken into consideration, the unexpected consequences as well as the importance and the value of the resolution itself,” he said.

Anna Ravenwoode of Kelseyville said she supported Scott and believed Lake County should seriously consider becoming a sanctuary county.

The long-term solution is a path to citizenship, and Ravenwoode urged the board to make a clear statement to the federal government that immigration reform is the ultimate goal.

Supervisor Moke Simon said he appreciated the topic being raised, and he agreed with Martin about the decision-making process. He said he wanted to make sure the immigrant community has a voice.

Board Chair Jeff Smith said he understood both sides of the issue. “Illegal is illegal,” he said. “If they can become documented, they need to do that.”

Smith said probably the only person not an immigrant in the room was Simon, who also is the chair of Middletown Rancheria.

“We’ve been dealing with this issue for a long time,” quipped Simon.

The board ended the discussion with no formal action.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.