REDWOOD CITY — As California continues to grapple with the novel coronavirus pandemic, an immigrant rights group on Wednesday called on San Mateo County Sheriff Carlos Bolanos to take the extreme step of fully emptying the jails his office oversees, as well as to stop the transfer of inmates to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The group, San Mateo County Coalition for Immigrant Rights, made their demands during a “COVID-19 safe car rally” outside the Maguire Correctional Facility in Redwood City. About 50 people in 25 vehicles participated, honking horns and waving signs.

“This coronavirus pandemic is laying bare big truths: One, that incarceration has always been a public health crisis. Two, that the health of each of us is dependent on the health of all of us. These things were true before the coronavirus pandemic, and they are more urgently and acutely true during it,” said Kathy Reyes, a former inmate and public health worker.

“Jails, prisons and detention centers have never been safe or healthy places for our beloved community members,” she continued. “Sheriff Bolanos needs to stop ICE transfers and rapidly decarcerate now.”

Bolanos responded to the demands in a statement Thursday.

“Working with the district attorney’s office, probation, and the private defender, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office has critically looked at those in our custody to determine which individuals may be suitable for early release,” Bolanos said. “In so doing, the sheriff’s office has strived to comply with the law, while balancing any risk of continued incarceration against the risk to public safety when making its decisions regarding releases.”

County courts and sheriffs have steadily decreased jail populations since Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in early March. As of Thursday, the Maguire Correctional Facility held 257 inmates, down from 486 on Feb. 29, and the Maple Street Correctional Center held 266 inmates, down from 483 on Feb. 29, Bolanos said.

Last month, the district attorney’s office agreed to the release of all inmates with 60 days or less of their sentences left to serve. And more than 135 inmates have been released under a new rule that sets bail at $0 for misdemeanors and most nonviolent felonies, Bolanos said.

“We are fortunate that our correctional system is now operating at 34 percent of our rated capacity,” Bolanos said. “As a result, should we have a need to quarantine individuals, we have an entire floor that we can dedicate for that purpose.”

Bolanos said the sheriff’s office is working with correctional health services to provide the “safest possible environment” for inmates deemed unsuitable for release. Anyone entering a county jail must pass a medical screening that includes a temperature check and every inmate must be medically cleared prior to moving to any other part of a facility outside their housing unit. Inmates are also being provided with information about the virus and have 24-hour access to warm water and free soap.

No inmates, deputies or correctional officers have tested positive for COVID-19, but two correctional facilities support employees have contracted the virus, Bolanos said.

In addition to seeking the release of every inmate from county jails, the immigrant rights group wants the sheriff to end all transfers to ICE. The sheriff’s office handed over 51 inmates in 2018, according to the group. The group alleges inmates who are transferred often end up in crowded and unsanitary detention facilities hundreds of miles away from their families. Such conditions, the group says, are ripe for the rapid spread of the disease.

“ICE transfers from San Mateo County Jails should have ended long ago,” said Sarait Escorza, a participatory defense organizer with civil-rights group Silicon Valley De-Bug, in a statement. “Not only do ICE transfers cause irreparable harm to the immigrant families and communities, but now could lead to serious illness or even death.”

Bolanos said the sheriff’s office will continue to follow the California Values Act and comply with requests from the federal government for notification of the release of those found to have committed serious felonies.

“Pursuant to that law,” he said, “two inmates were picked up from San Mateo County correctional facilities by ICE in the last two months, one in March and one in April.”