BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood is pushing back against the city of Bakersfield's consideration of a sanctuary city ordinance, calling the designation meaningless and politically motivated.
"A sanctuary city means absolutely nothing. The only thing it does is empowers people to think they have a right to resist the federal agents, and that's why we're having these events. Be honest with the people," Youngblood said.
"There is no purpose in a sanctuary city other than furthering the agenda of a couple of politicians who want to move up," Youngblood said.
Kern County declared itself a non-sanctuary county in response to California's passage of Senate Bill 54 in 2017. Youngblood said he had board members who were supportive of the move in private but not in public, and the measure did not pass — though he maintains the county operates as non-sanctuary. Advocates returned to the board in 2025, where the request was again declined.
Youngblood said the county follows the law when it comes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement cooperation, but that state law limits what his deputies can do.
"We follow the law, whatever the law is, and the law happens to say we can't work with ICE except for qualifying crimes. We can't call ICE when we stop a car that has a bunch of illegals. In fact, we can't even ask someone whether they're in the country legally or not. That's our role," Youngblood said.
He said the number of people the city has turned over to ICE is zero, and characterized calls for a public forum on the issue as a platform for activist debate rather than a genuine policy discussion.
Youngblood also addressed claims made at public meetings that Kern County Sheriff's deputies were stopping cars and contacting ICE for deportations.
"I call them liars because that's what they are. Dolores Huerta stood in front of the board and said we were stopping cars and calling ICE and deporting them. This is a couple of years ago, and I asked her when and where so that we could, if it was happening, I could stop it. And she said she didn't write the date and time down and I said because it didn't happen," Youngblood said.
He warned that SB 54 has had unintended consequences by pushing ICE enforcement out of jails and into communities.
"Prior to Senate Bill 54, ICE would come into the jail and they would take the criminals. People who are in custody for a crime and deport them and they stayed out of our communities. Senate Bill 54 came along and I said at the time, be careful what you ask for. If they can't get them, the criminals out of the jail, they're gonna go into their communities and there's gonna be collateral damage, and we're seeing that across this nation," Youngblood said.
Kern River drownings
Youngblood said someone is drowning in the Kern River nearly every weekend this season, and warned that the river is more dangerous than it appears.
"They get in the river and it looks calm and it's not. It's not just people from LA. We had someone from Lake Isabella, someone from Bakersfield that are well aware of the dangers of the river and they succumb to fishing, chasing their dog," Youngblood said.
"People from LA jump in the river, mix it with alcohol, and nothing good can come from that, and we're seeing that year after year after year," Youngblood said.
He said the sheriff's office has invested in advanced rescue equipment, including the Sherp — a vehicle capable of operating on water and ice — as well as rescue boats, life vests, and drones. Despite that technology, Youngblood said drownings continue.
"We have the best equipment in the world. People still drown, and we can't keep people safe. We have to take them. We're not there to drag them out of the river when they jump in," Youngblood said.
"You have to use caution, especially with children around the river. It's dangerous if you slip on a rock, you're gone," Youngblood said.
Copper wire theft
Youngblood said copper wire theft is cyclical and driven by commodity prices, and that the sheriff's office has cases pending against recyclers for failing to report suspicious transactions, as well as arrests in the north area of the county.
"What it's worth will drive the criminals. We see upticks and we see where it levels out and goes down," Youngblood said.
"It's not an epidemic. It just goes up and down. We deal with it as it comes," Youngblood said.
He said some buyers of stolen copper are inattentive while others are knowingly criminal, and compared the behavior to cartel activity.
"If you can make money, they're going to be there. That's what we see with the cartels. They'll shift from one drug to another to guns. Whatever they can make money with is what they deal in," Youngblood said.
Homeless encampment sweeps
Youngblood said the sheriff's office has been working with Supervisor Flores in the 3rd District to clear homeless encampments, but described the effort as an ongoing challenge.
"It's like stepping on mercury. If you clean one out, they move into the city. The city cleans one out, they move somewhere in the county," Youngblood said.
He said many people living in encampments are in serious need of medical care, and that those who are arrested receive that attention in jail. He also said criminal activity is present in nearly every encampment.
"There's crime in every encampment, whether it be drugs or whether it be theft. They're surviving off of stealing. There's criminal activity on almost every encampment," Youngblood said.
Retirement timeline
Youngblood confirmed he will not run for sheriff again and has approximately 2.5 years remaining on his current term, though he said he may retire before the term ends. He noted that when he was last elected, the position was a 4-year term that the governor later extended to 6 years after the election.
"There's a lot of people who would like to retire me, but I make my own decisions. I've got 2.5 years left on this term. I'm not gonna run again for sure, but somewhere in the next 2.5 years, maybe at the end of the 2.5 years, I don't know yet," Youngblood said.
He said he has served nearly 20 years as sheriff, with 30 years in the sheriff's office before that, and has no plans to pursue another elected position after retiring.
"I've got the best job in the world. Why would I give up this job and go do another job? There's nothing better than being the sheriff and representing the people of this great county," Youngblood said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy
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