Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes blasted Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento for advocating for the release of criminals who then go on to commit more crimes.
This is from Barnes’ Facebook page:
Both the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register recently reported on the county’s TRUTH Act hearing, the purpose of which is to report those in my custody who are released to ICE. Despite the immigration activists in attendance who proclaim these acts are illegal, the process of transferring inmates into ICE custody is completely legal as defined under the California Values Act.
The same activists report the rising numbers of transfers and lay blame on me. I have nothing to do with how many inmates with detainers ICE picks up. The only thing I do is make them available for pickup when their commitment is fulfilled. It is ICE’s sole decision on whether they pick them up or not. If they do not pick them up, I am obligated to release them back into the community.
What was most disturbing is Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento’s assertion once again that there is no correlation between criminals being released back into the community and crime. To the contrary, there is a direct correlation between these criminals being released back into the community and crime. These are the same individuals who are convicted with crimes such as robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, narcotics trafficking, child molestation, and many other violations of law.
Of the 501 screenings who were not referred to ICE due to state law, 55 were later re-arrested in Orange County for new offenses, including assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, driving under the influence, drug-related violations, false imprisonment, grand theft, and weapons charges. Additionally, of the 323 criminals who were eligible to be transferred to ICE pursuant to the California Values Act (SB 54), 66 were re-arrested for new offenses, including burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, theft, narcotics violations, and parole violations. These numbers only reflect arrests within Orange County and only in calendar year 2025. Most importantly, many of these offenses have associated victims, many of whom reside within the communities Supervisor Sarmiento has an obligation to protect. Supervisor Sarmiento openly advocated for the release of these criminals back into the community at the expense of the public’s safety and unnecessarily creating additional victims.
I find it disingenuous to make such unfounded assertions. I find it equally disturbing that these advocates and Supervisor Sarmiento want to have these criminals released back into the community. Often times, they are released back into the communities in which they preyed upon and are negatively impacted by the crimes they committed. What is most telling is not once has a member of any immigrant community begged for the release of violent criminals, drug dealers, and child molesters back into their neighborhoods. That is simply because these communities don’t want criminals in their midst either.
I have an obligation to protect all residents within Orange County, regardless of immigration status. It is unfair to portray those in our community who have not committed any crime the same as those who continually and repeatedly violate our state’s laws.
As sheriff, I will continue to protect our communities, prevent crime, apprehend criminals, and stand in support of victims. And I will continue to fully cooperate with ICE as is permissible within the law.
Supervisor Sarmiento’s Pro-Criminal History
- Opposition to Proposition 36 (2024): Sarmiento was the lone OC Supervisor to speak out against this measure, which sought to increase penalties for repeat retail theft and drug offenses. He argued it would “reignite the failed war on drugs” and offered a “false promise”.
- ICE Transfer Criticism: He has consistently challenged the Sheriff’s Department’s practice of notifying ICE when certain inmates are released. Sheriff Barnes recently called Sarmiento’s assertion that there is “no correlation between criminals being released… and crime” as “disturbing”.
- Support for Resentencing Equity: He has advocated for legislation like AB 600, which allows courts to recall or reduce sentence lengths to remedy what he calls “discriminative practices” in the criminal justice system.