Liccardo Testifies In Support of San Mateo County's Efforts to Restrict Detention Facilities

Redwood City, CA - Today, Congressman Sam Liccardo (CA-16) testified at the San Mateo Board of Supervisors meeting, partnering with the board, as it takes steps to restrict the development of detention center facilities in unincorporated San Mateo County. The County, with leadership from Sup. Noelia Corzo and Sup. Ray Mueller, is the first county in California's 16th district to take such action.

Congressman Liccardo is leading a regional effort to champion such ordinances. Last week he released a toolkit on how local jurisdictions can employ land use regulations to restrict the development of ICE detention centers in their communities. Local communities do not have the authority to outright prohibit detention centers or to prohibit any federal activity. However, they do have the authority, under the 10th Amendment, to prohibit unsafe facilities, to limit where they can be sited, and to impose many conditions on a facility to protect public health and safety.

Today, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors unanimously directed its county counsel to draft an urgency ordinance for consideration on August 25th. This would temporarily prohibit any detention facility from moving forward, providing San Mateo County time to explore a permanent ordinance to prohibit, restrict, and/or otherwise regulate the siting and operation of detention facilities, and other similar institutional land uses within unincorporated San Mateo County.

Congressman Liccardo's remarks at the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors meeting:

Video link to Rep. Liccardo's testimony.

Photo link to Rep. Liccardo's testimony.

Transcript of Rep. Liccardo's Testimony to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors on 8.11.26 re restrictions on detention centers

Thank you, President Corzo, and to the Board. And thank you, President, for your leadership, and Supervisor Mueller for your leadership, your partnership as well on this. I know that the board is very familiar with these issues. You have been leading in these areas for many, many years. Particularly as I look at Supervisor Speier and her longstanding leadership on issues of health and on immigration, this is at the confluence of those issues.

Of course, the 10th Amendment provides you and other local counties and cities the ability to protect the health and safety of your residents through land use-that's an important mechanism-and I come to you in the spirit of partnership to ask the County of San Mateo to consider becoming the first jurisdiction in the region to deploy its land use authority to impose conditions and reasonable restrictions that will prohibit unsafe ICE detention facilities, limit their locations, and ensure that you have the legal control over any facilities, operations, and characteristics to protect the health and safety of San Mateo County residents.

I would point out, President Corzo, you thanked me for including you. I should thank you because you are, in fact, leading the effort and the City of San Jose will be having a public hearing tomorrow. We have other cities that are quite interested in jumping in as well. Thank you very much for being willing to go first.

The state recently issued a report, that is, the Department of Justice did here in California, detailing many of the factual conditions that provide you the legal basis for moving forward around health and safety concerns, the state DOJ's report this year detailed overcrowding, a lack of access to medical care, inadequate food and water, unsanitary conditions, and alarming increasing fatalities in those ICE facilities here in California.

We have seven detention facilities in Southern California. No large detention facilities in Northern California. I, of course, would like to keep it that way. We've seen six deaths in those seven facilities in a period of just half a year. We understand, I know you understand well, what that means for our communities. Of course, my motivations may expand beyond your health and safety. I am deeply concerned about how these detention facilities enable ICE to conduct large-scale operations that severely disrupt our communities, our neighborhoods, our families, and I know that many of you may have those concerns as well. But I'll play the role of recovering attorney; I know your counsel will ensure that you stay focused on health and safety issues.

There is a gap, I should note, and it's important to attend to between intention and action. You are considering a resolution today, and I'm grateful for that. It is going to be several months, I'm sure, before you have a final ordinance, and obviously your team, your council, and planning staff need time to return to you with a final ordinance. In that period of time, of course, a detention facility could move forward in this county. Fortunately, California law, that is Government Code Section 65858, does provide local communities with the power to enact urgency ordinances. Essentially, these are temporary moratoria that can last between 45 days and a year.

That enables you to have the time to do the work as well as the outreach that is required. I'd respectfully request that you consider doing so, and that enables you to return for board consideration with an urgency ordinance in a much more abbreviated timeline than with a typical matter. With that, I certainly am happy to answer any questions. But again, just want to thank you for your tremendous leadership and partnership.

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