"It appears the new administration has an increased focus on this, and they're responding to these requests a little bit more frequently," Madera County Assistant Sheriff Brian Esteves told Action News on Tuesday.
More Madera inmates have been released to ICE so far this year than in all of 2024.
"This year, we're already up to 7 or 8 as opposed to just one last year," he said.
The increased cooperation at the jail aligns with what Congressman Tom McClintock told Action News in an exclusive interview last month, saying the administration would first remove hardened criminals.
Advocate Stan Santos believes enforcement goes far beyond.
"The landscape has changed entirely," he said. "Now, they don't even have to have that type of charge in order for them to be deportable."
California's SB 54 outlines how local authorities can cooperate with ICE, requiring inmates to be convicted of serious felonies or sex crimes.
"I can assure you they all met that SB 54 and those pre-qualifying crimes that they had suffered convictions for," Esteves said.
Federal officials review the fingerprints taken at the jail.
"When it comes time to release them, we let them know when we're going to be releasing that person, and they'll come pick them up," Esteves said of the federal immigration officials.
It will take months to know how the crackdown impacts inmates elsewhere.
Officials in Fresno County say they will provide an update on May 20.
In Merced County, it will happen sometime in July.
Spokespeople in Tulare, Kings, and Mariposa counties did not provide Action News a date.
"The information comes trickling out, so you find out, perhaps, even a year or so later," Santos said.
"So, you can't rely on the numbers that we're seeing right now."
SB 54 was the first of its kind to limit local and federal immigration cooperation when it took effect in 2018.
Now, some local politicians are calling for reforms. Those proposals are still under consideration.
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