Quick Take
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is expanding its free video visits for people in the county jail for the next 30 days amid increased enforcement activity by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the area.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is expanding its free video visits for people in the county jail for the next 30 days following increased enforcement activity by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the region.
People in custody will have access to six complimentary video visits per week, according to a media release from the Santa Cruz County Office of the Public Defender. The average number of complimentary video visits is two.
The decision will allow for families who might be too scared to visit the county jail in person to remain connected to their loved ones in custody. The sheriff’s office negotiated the expansion with the video visitation provider “at no additional cost to the county,” according to the media release.
“We appreciate the Sheriff’s responsible, compassionate approach to keeping the people we serve connected to their families and natural support systems,” Santa Cruz County Public Defender Heather Rogers said in the release.
The move follows a visit from ICE agents to the Santa Cruz Main Jail in October. According to Sheriff Chris Clark, the federal agents attempted to take an individual into custody, but left without detaining anyone. Clark told Lookout that his department was not aware that ICE agents were planning to conduct an enforcement activity at the county jail.
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