“We will remember in November.”
Those words were directed at Marin County Board of Supervisors President Eric Lucan during Tuesday morning’s Board of Supervisors meeting in San Rafael.
Lucan and fellow Democrat Jackie Elward are running against each other in the Nov. 3 general election for California’s 12th Assembly District.
More than 40 members of the public approached the podium to address the Marin County Board of Supervisors during the public comment period. Once public comment concluded, a crowd of more than 100 people stood and began singing “We Shall Overcome” in English and Spanish and unfurling an “ICE-Free Marin Now!” banner.
Seven of the nine Bay Area counties have enacted ordinances or sanctuary policies establishing additional restrictions on local cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Marin and Solano counties remain the two exceptions, according to the coalition.
Although speakers expressed their frustrations in different ways, many shared similar concerns about the Marin County Board of Supervisors’ inaction on the proposed ordinance, with some describing the board’s response as “horrifying,” “immoral” and “cowardly.”
The five-member board consists of Brian Colbert, Stephanie Moulton-Peters, Lucan, Mary Sackett and Dennis Rodoni.
Tara Evans, a West Marin resident, said that just as the community elected the Board of Supervisors, residents have a responsibility to hold their elected officials accountable.
“Behind the data are real people. A mother should not have to hope that she makes it home. A child should not have to wonder if their parents come back from work. Our neighboring counties have already chosen law over hope. Pass the ordinance. Not someday. Agendize it, now,” Evans said.
Tuesday’s act of nonviolent civil disobedience followed a year of grassroots organizing by the No ICE in Marin coalition, which has mobilized hundreds of residents to attend board meetings and collected nearly 10,000 petition signatures supporting its demands to prohibit cooperation between Marin County and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Jenny Coil, a San Rafael resident, expressed frustration with the board’s perceived complacency and failure to adopt the proposed ordinance.
“ICE is out of control. They cruise around in unmarked cars wearing masks, and (the board) stands up for them saying that (ICE) is going after the worst of the worst. I’ll bet everyone in this room, everyone knows an immigrant that has been a positive force. Out of all nine Bay Area counties, Marin is just one of two that has neither a sanctuary county ordinance or an ICE ordinance. Instead of considering unenforceable policies at the next meeting, we need a strong ordinance that prohibits ICE from using county resources,” said Coil.
According to the Marin Rapid Response Network, ICE has detained 57 Marin County residents since March 2025, including 40 in 2026. The organization also reported that 13 Marin residents have been deported.
The proposed ICE-Free Marin ordinance would prohibit ICE from using county property or resources and require prompt, transparent reporting of local ICE activities.
No ICE in Marin is a grassroots campaign comprising more than 16 local community organizations advocating for an end to cooperation between Marin County and federal immigration enforcement authorities.
“For more than a year, people across Marin have demanded to end the callous cooperation with ICE. Hundreds have spoken at meetings. Thousands have signed petitions. Yet, as ICE raids continue to terrorize families and our neighborhoods with help from the sheriff, this board offers only a flimsy unenforceable policy instead of real safeguards. We are in the middle of ICE’s 45-day enforcement surge in California. People are living in fear, families are being traumatized. Keep in mind, Marin is almost alone in the Bay Area in refusing to take a meaningful stand,” said Sonia Parecadan, co-chair of the Marin Democratic Socialists of America, as she addressed the board.
“A policy isn’t enough and time is up. Do your job, protect your neighbors. The election is coming up, and we’ll remember in November.”
California counties that have adopted similar ICE-free ordinances or policies include Sonoma, San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento and San Diego.