Under increased scrutiny of law enforcement, Sheriff Robert Doyle has agreed to stop handing inmates over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the private booking area of the Marin County Jail starting Aug. 15. The county office will still notify the federal agency when inmates who are convicted or charged with serious or violent crimes are released, allowing agents to arrest them in the public lobby. The decision to bar ICE agents from the private areas of the jail comes in the aftermath of long and tense budget hearings last month, when hundreds of callers asked the Board of Supervisors to decrease funding for the sheriff. “After a review of our policies, procedures and practices in place, our organization felt this was the right decision moving forward,” said Sgt. Brenton Schneider, the spokesman for the sheriff’s office. Members of the public have been calling for years for the sheriff to stop telling ICE agents when immigrants are released, and the sheriff has defended his cooperation, saying the immigrants he hands over are dangerous criminals and that releasing them in the lobby could lead to conflicts with ICE agents and more grief for families. ICE Out of Marin has led the opposition to the sheriff’s cooperation, describing the conditions at the border as hell-like and the treatment of immigrants as crimes against humanity. “Cooperation with ICE creates a policy of collective punishment on the masses of people for the transfer of a handful of people,” immigrant advocate Yavar Amidi said. “We want to protect the lives and livelihoods of the thousands of people that make up the immigrant community—and undoubtedly make up the backbone of the county.” The sheriff’s cooperation with ICE has declined in recent years: The jail transferred 72 inmates in 2018, 27 last year and just six so far this year. With the new shift, the jail will no longer collect data about who ICE arrests, just the notifications it makes. The decision is one of several changes in the sheriff’s office since protests against systemic racism began in Marin following the death of George Floyd in May. The sheriff banned the carotid restraint, a hold that restricts blood flow to the brain, asked each county supervisor to appoint a constituent to review use-of-force policies, and said he would explore closing one of six pods in the jail. The jail population has shrunk from around 300 to fewer than 150 inmates due to a zero-bail initiative and suspended sentences during the pandemic. Against Sheriff Doyle’s wishes, supervisors last month gave the office only half of the budget increase it requested, approving an increase of $1.5 million, or $1.7 million less than it sought. The remainder was redirected to racial equity initiatives, and supervisors agreed that their vote was the beginning of an ongoing conversation about shifting resources away from law enforcement. Since then, rumors have swirled that the sheriff will cut its nighttime hours at the Point Reyes Station substation, but no decision has been announced. “We are looking at all our operational needs and how we can best serve the community,” Sgt. Schneider said. “Once final decisions have been made, we will release what the changes are going to be to the community.” Supervisor Dennis Rodoni said he is hopeful that the budget will be balanced by leaving vacant positions unfilled and keeping service levels as they currently are. Between 10 and 25 of the sheriff’s 320 positions have been unfilled over the past several years due to worker’s compensation absences, long-term illnesses and retirements. Supervisor Rodoni has also asked county lawyers to create a sanctuary county ordinance that protects immigrants to the maximum extent possible.