Quick Take
Santa Cruz County is joining a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County seeking to block a planned federal immigration facility near Gilroy.
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Santa Cruz County is joining a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County earlier this week that seeks to block a planned federal immigration enforcement facility near Gilroy.
The proposed facility would be located just outside Gilroy, nearly 11 miles south of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Morgan Hill, according to a report from San José Spotlight. The lawsuit alleges that the project was “undertaken without required local review and permitting process.”
Despite the proposed facility being located in Santa Clara County, it could affect communities throughout the Central Coast.
Immigration agents have visited Santa Cruz County at least 39 times since January 2025, including the arrest of a Watsonville resident in January 2026. Federal officials have thus far not conducted a large-scale enforcement operation in the county and have conducted only targeted arrests.
“Santa Cruz County communities are deeply connected to those throughout the region,” County Supervisor Monica Martinez said in a media release Thursday.
County leadership intends to participate in ongoing efforts, including joining the lawsuit, “to understand, prepare for and fight back against the impacts of federal immigration enforcement activities,” said Martinez.
Earlier this year, the board of supervisors approved an ordinance barring ICE agents from using county-owned facilities, such as parks, buildings and parking lots, for enforcement purposes.
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