Oakland Mayor Warns Immigration Arrests Could Hit Bay Area Sunday

Immigration agents may conduct an operation as soon as Sunday in Oakland and other parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, according to a statement from Mayor Libby Schaaf.

The mayor said she got the information today from “multiple credible sources.”

“I know that Oakland is a city of law-abiding immigrants and families who deserve to live free from the constant threat of arrest and deportation,” Schaaf said in the written statement released Saturday night. “I believe it is my duty and moral obligation as Mayor to give those families fair warning when that threat appears imminent.”

Schaaf is encouraging residents to consult local resources such as Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland to understand their legal rights and options in case they are detained or know someone who needs legal representation.

She cautioned against panic.

“We understand ICE has used activity rumors in the past as a tactic to create fear; our intent is for our community to go about their daily lives without fear, but resiliency and awareness,” Schaaf’s statement says.

Oakland school officials have strict procedures in place to protect students and families and Oakland police officers are prohibited from taking part in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, according to Schaaf. San Francisco and many other cities in the Bay Area have similar policies.

California law prohibits business owners from helping immigration agents with enforcement and bars federal agents from going into employee-only areas.

Schaaf said she does not have any information on the specific places where immigration agents may conduct their operations.

ICE agents arrested 212 people in the Los Angeles area during a five-day operation in mid-February, according to the agency.

“Because sanctuary jurisdictions like Los Angeles prevent ICE from arresting criminal aliens in the secure confines of a jail, our officers are forced to conduct at-large arrests in the community, putting officers, the general public and the aliens at greater risk and increasing the incidents of collateral arrests,” ICE Deputy Director Thomas Homan said in a written statement.

The San Francisco Chronicle publicized a rumored mass immigration enforcement operation targeting the Bay Area in January, which so far has yet to occur.