As reported by Mercury News.

SAN JOSE — A well-funded conservative watchdog group is suing Santa Clara County over its sanctuary policy, which forbids the county’s jails from holding inmates for immigration agents without a criminal warrant.

The lawsuit, announced Wednesday, was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court last week by D.C.-based Judicial Watch on behalf of Santa Clara County resident Howard A. Myers. The suit seeks an injunction against the policy, which came under national scrutiny following the slaying of San Jose resident Bambi Larson in February.

Police say Larson was stabbed in her home by Carlos Arevalo Carranza, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador who had been arrested multiple times on drug, burglary and other charges but never held in custody for immigration authorities.

Critics contend the killing could have been prevented had local authorities listened to ICE, which asked Santa Clara County six times to detain Arevalo Carranza past his release date so it could intercept him. The county’s top law-enforcement officials have called for the county to change its no-notification policy.

Judicial Watch filed in Myers’ name to give the suit local standing, and names Sheriff Laurie Smith as the primary defendant, although the sanctuary protections at issue stem from a county policy approved by the Board of Supervisors.

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