LOS ANGELES, CA — Sheriff Alex Villanueva this week reiterated a promise to remove federal immigration agents from county jails, drawing both boos and applause from a crowd at a Truth Act Community Forum convened by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

"We are going to physically remove ICE from the county jails," Villanueva said, adding that he also planned to cut down the list of roughly 150 misdemeanor offenses that trigger department cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. "We're going to pare that list down substantially" and reduce it to reflect only the most serious charges, the newly-elected sheriff told the board, saying he planned on "honoring the spirit and the letter of SB 54," sometimes called the "sanctuary state" law.

The Sheriff's Department transferred 1,223 individuals to the custody of ICE agents in 2017, according to statistics released under the Truth Act. That amounts to less than half the number of inmates who were released with an outstanding request for detention by federal immigration authorities, according to LASD data. Roughly a quarter of the people transferred in 2017 had been convicted of health and safety violations, which include drug crimes. Crimes against persons and property crimes made up about 20 percent each. Four percent of those released to ICE agents had been convicted of vehicle code violations.

Advocates for immigrant communities say the vast majority of individuals deported by ICE after release from county jail served their time for low-level, non-violent crimes. "Are we saying that they should not have a second chance?" asked Andres Kwon of the American Civil Liberties Union. "Crimes should be dealt with by the criminal justice system, not the immigration system."

Phal Sok said he was an example of someone who was given a second chance, in his case by a pardon from Gov. Jerry Brown.

Sok served 15 years in prison for an armed robbery he committed when he was 17 and was ordered deported to Cambodia, though he had lived in the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident for 37 years.

"Not everyone that comes out is going to go on to reoffend," Sok told the board. Sheriff's Cmdr. Elier Morejon said Villanueva hoped to make promised changes over the next couple of weeks, before the year is out.