A spokesperson for the Martinez Jail said their facility is joining others throughout the state who are no longer holding inmates for no other reason than illegal immigrant status.

Each year, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (better known as ICE) asks East Bay jails to detain and turn over undocumented inmates who are arrested on other charges so the agency could establish whether that person is in the country legally.

Ultimately, even if this person hadn't been convicted of a crime, they were not allowed to be released on bail bonds.

But now, the jails say they're not going to honor any ICE holds unless they are backed by a court order.

In San Mateo, Sheriff Greg Munks is implementing a similar policy, but he has instructed the jailers to evaluate the holds case by case.  If it's deemed that the defendant may pose a significant risk to the community, there's a good chance they'll remain in custody.

Inmate advocates say they're pleased by the change.

The policy is a complete 180 from how things were done in the past, they said, and they're thrilled that these types of holds are no longer mandatory under the law.

Advocates feel this is a better means of ensuring due process is upheld.

And at this point, there is legal precedent to back up that stance.

Earlier this year, a federal judge in Oregon found a county jail had violated a woman's constitutional rights because they were holding her without probable cause.  In that case, she was only being detained because ICE wanted to deport her.

Other West Coast jailers say they want to avoid that kind of liability.

Both jailers and immigrant advocacy groups reportedly feel this is a positive step in the right direction.