Thread: ICE agents plan massive immigration sweeps in Bay Area cities

ICE agents plan massive immigration sweeps in Bay Area cities

BY KATE TINNEY | STAFF

U.S. immigration officials are preparing to arrest more than 1,500 undocumented individuals in San Francisco and other Northern California cities as a response to California becoming a sanctuary state last year, according to a tip the San Francisco Chronicle received from an anonymous source Tuesday.

This information comes amid uncertainty about the tactics and motivations of immigration reform and policy. The San Francisco Chronicle also reported Wednesday that several Bay Area law enforcement agencies had not been told by federal officers of plans for major sweeps and did not plan to cooperate if any such sweep occurred.

Jennifer D. Elzea, press secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, said in an email that she is unable to speculate about future enforcement actions of the agency.

Based on media accounts and individual reports, campus Chicano studies assistant professor Chris Zepeda-Millan said larger raids typically include arrests of a few hundred people. He added, however, that it is hard to contextualize how large a 1,500-person raid is because the federal government has not released comprehensive data on why, when and where these raids occur.

“We can understand this threat as of a piece with the recent targeting of immigrants’ rights activists who have either been served with notices to appear in immigration court, are in detention, or have already been deported,” Leti Volpp, a UC Berkeley law professor, said in an email.

For those who may be affected by the raid, Volpp recommends that they remain silent, ask to speak with a lawyer and not sign any documents before first speaking to a lawyer, among other things.

Berkeley Law Human Rights Center researcher Khaled Alrabe said in an email that the raids are more about politics than national security, crime or immigration policy.

“Even if we presume that raids are an effective strategy to crack down on immigration violations, which I have no reason to believe is true, there is no non-political explanation for why federal authorities are focusing their efforts on the Bay Area,” Alrabe said in an email.

Zepeda-Millan said raids are hard to prepare for because people do not find out about them until after they happen, and most activism against them has been ineffective, in his opinion.

According to Zepeda-Millan, the raids have the effect of making American society more dangerous, as immigrants become hesitant to call the police in criminal matters out of fear of deportation.

Zepeda-Millan said he believes that raids are one of the most ineffective tools for dealing with immigration issues and cost millions of dollars to execute.

“Conservatives should be up in arms saying this is a big waste of American tax dollars,” Zepeda-Millan said. “Assuming people in the Trump (administration) and ICE understand how ineffective this is … The only conclusion I could come to is that the sole goal of these raids is to create fear in immigrant communities.”

ICE agents plan massive immigration sweeps in Bay Area cities

Bay Area cities brace for ICE sweeps

Protesters conduct a May Day rally in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) office, Monday, May 1, 2017, in San Francisco, Calif.
(Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group Archives)

By Tatiana Sanchez, Bay Area News Group
POSTED: 01/17/18

Fear is growing in immigrant communities that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is getting ready to launch massive raids across California — a threat that activists and politicians say is retaliation against the Golden State’s bold “sanctuary” policies.

ICE director Thomas Homan recently told Fox News that the agency will significantly increase enforcement across the state and warned California to “hold on tight.” And a report by the San Francisco Chronicle this week said ICE is planning raids targeting Northern California cities, with the goal of arresting more than 1,500 immigrants.

Advocates say they’re prepared for the crackdowns, with hundreds of Bay Area volunteers training to act as “first responders” at homes and workplaces where the raids are expected to take place.

“We kind of knew it was coming already,” said Jesus Ruiz, an organizer with San Jose-based People Acting in Community Together, or PACT.

ICE spokesman James Schwab on Wednesday declined to comment, saying that the agency does not release information on “future enforcement activities.”

STATE VS. FEDS

The raids would again pit left-leaning California against U.S. immigration officials intent on doubling down on illegal immigration and could be the first big test of the state’s new sanctuary legislation. California became the first “sanctuary state” in the country Jan. 1 when it implemented Senate Bill 54, a measure aimed at preventing law enforcement officers from helping to carry out Trump’s promised crackdown on illegal immigration.

The bill limits communication between California police officers and federal immigration agents about people detained by police or in jail awaiting trial. Exceptions include those who have been convicted of serious crimes within the past 15 years and suspects in serious crimes punishable with prison time for which a judge has found probable cause. It also prohibits California officers from inquiring about a person’s immigration status.

PACT, a grassroots advocacy organization, is refining its Rapid Response Network, a team of about 700 U.S. citizen volunteers trained to respond to ICE sightings across Santa Clara County. While they don’t interfere with enforcement operations or interact with ICE agents, the volunteers will act as an extra set of eyes during enforcement operations, Ruiz said.

The network received alerts last week when agents descended on 7-Eleven stores in Santa Clara as part of a national sting targeting undocumented workers within the franchise.

“They’re there to be legal observers — to make sure … that constitutional rights are not being violated,” Ruiz said.

FALSE NARRATIVE

He said the notion that California’s sanctuary bill makes cities unsafe is a false narrative that ICE has created.

“SB 54 does not prevent ICE from doing its work,” he said. “It just prevents ICE from arresting somebody or detaining somebody without a warrant — that’s due process.”

But Homan disputes that notion.

“What they have done is force my officers to arrest dangerous criminals on their turf, in their homes, and their places of business, rather than arresting them in the safety and security of a county jail,” the ICE director told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto on Jan. 2. “It’s ridiculous to knowingly and intentionally put law enforcement at risk.”

Bill Hing, a law professor at the University of San Francisco, said he’s expected the ICE raids would happen for a while, particularly in high-profile sanctuary jurisdictions like San Francisco and Santa Clara counties.

“They’ve been criticizing sanctuary jurisdictions since Day One,” he said of Trump administration officials. “We’ve been waiting for more raids and them wanting to make an example of those jurisdictions.”

Hing said ICE agents will likely go after undocumented immigrants who have missed scheduled deportation hearings, searching their homes and places of employment.

“When they’re there, they’re going to ask everybody else for their documents — the so-called collateral arrests,” he said. “It might get ugly.”

“Collateral arrests” are a controversial practice in which ICE, while attempting to apprehend undocumented immigrants with criminal records, sweep up other undocumented residents such as family members or co-workers at the same location.

While SB 54 generally prohibits law enforcement from cooperating with ICE officials, Hing said some police departments might feel pressured to work with agents during raids.

The Oakland City Council on Tuesday voted to formally end all law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration officials. A spokeswoman for the city’s police department said Chief Anne Kirkpatrick “supports and values Oakland as a sanctuary city.”

ANGRY RESPONSE

The reports of imminent raids drew swift and angry responses from California lawmakers Wednesday, who called the plans retaliatory and said they would break apart families.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, said Homan’s enforcement warnings were “over the top” and “exhibited a pretty strong misunderstanding of the relationship between federal and state governments.”

“He obviously had not familiarized himself with what California actually did, which was in no way out of compliance with federal law,” said Lofgren, the ranking Democrat on the House’s Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called ICE’s plans “shameful” and “pure malice.”

“Hard-working immigrants will be targeted and their families torn apart, simply for being Californians,” Pelosi, D-San Francisco, said in a statement. “This vast immigration dragnet is purpose-built to instill fear in our communities. These raids will certainly not make Americans safer.”

California Sens. Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein sent a letter to Homan Wednesday expressing concern that “rather than focusing efforts on violent criminals, raids carried out in neighborhoods and workplaces could result in the deportation of individuals who are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Santa Clara, said the administration is targeting immigrants to make a political point.

“Immigrants are the backbone of our country, and such raids will only incite fear in our communities and undermine public safety,’ he said in a statement. “We must stand up for their rights.”

Bay Area cities brace for ICE sweeps

Advocates Preparing For Large ICE Raid In California

By Steve LargeJanuary 17, 2018

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Immigration advocates are bracing for a sweeping raid by ICE agents across Northern California, targeting undocumented immigrants.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will target California for its “so-called” sanctuary state status in what could be the biggest enforcement operation yet under President Trump.

Sacramento’s B’nai Israel Synagogue now includes a dedicated space for undocumented immigrants seeking sanctuary from arrests by federal agents.

The congregation voted not to hide undocumented people, but to house them, hopeful federal agents would not raid a house of worship.

“As a Jewish community we have known what it means to be on the outside,” Rabbi Mona Alfi said.

Reports of a massive immigration raid, have Alfi fearful for undocumented families facing separation.

“This doesn’t feel like this is about the safety and security of our country,” Alfi said.

A report by the San Francisco Chronicle, describes an imminent ICE raid seeking to arrest 1500 undocumented people.

Those served with final deportation orders and those with criminal histories would be primary targets. An ICE spokesperson would not confirm or deny reports.

“We can’t speculate about future enforcement actions,” ICE spokesperson James Schwab said.

UC Davis Professor Holly Cooper says the massive size of the reported operation is especially unusual because it would require lots of space to detain the arrested and get them hearings.

She is advising undocumented people to prepare.

“If you do have a removal order you should talk to a lawyer immediately,” Cooper said.

In response to California’s so-called sanctuary state status.

ICE acting director Thomas Homan appeared on Fox News earlier this month promising more enforcement action in California.
“We are going to be all over the place, and we are going to enforce law without apology,” Homan said.

Now reports that an ICE action is imminent, in an operation aimed all over Northern California.

“This feels political,” Alfi said.

Advocates Preparing For Large ICE Raid In California « CBS ...

“This feels political,” Alfi said.

It is. The people of the United States have spoken.

ROLL IN WITH HUNDREDS OF I.C.E. BUSES

PROCESS THEM ON THE BUS ON THE WAY TO THE BORDER AND DUMP THEM OUT OVER THE BORDER!

Immigration agents raid 77 Northern California workplaces; no arrests reported

@ ICE targets 77 Northern California businesses in illegal worker crackdown