ICE Acting Director Issues Statement on Use of ICE Detainers in Sonoma County
ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan issued a strong statement regarding the use of ICE detainers in Sonoma County, stating that, “Once again, a non-cooperative jurisdiction has left their community vulnerable to dangerous individuals and preventable crimes.”
Posted on the Sonoma Sheriff's Facebook page on October 19, 2017, and discusses the arrest of Jesus Fabian Gonzalez for felony arson:
"The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a press release yesterday that was inaccurate, inflammatory, and damages the relationship we have with our community."
"Cal Fire is investigating the cause of the wildland fires that devastated our community. They have not released a cause. We don't know if these fires were arson or caused by another source. There is no indication that Gonzalez had anything to do with these fires and it appears highly unlikely."
Quotes from the Los Angeles Times:
“ICE attacked the Sheriff’s Office in the midst of the largest natural disaster this county has ever experienced,” Giordano said. “ICE’s misleading statement stirs fear in some of our community members who are already exhausted and scared.”
“There is a story out there that he’s the arsonist in these fires. That’s not the case. There’s no indication he’s related to these fires at all,” Giordano said of Gonzalez. “I wanted to kill that speculation right now, so we didn’t have things running too far out of control.”