Just hours after the Oakland City Council voted unanimously to end any cooperation with agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Mayor Libby Schaaf said Wednesday she would go to jail if needed in her opposition to ICE raids.
“It is no surprise that the bully in chief is continuing to try to intimidate our most vulnerable residents,” said Schaaf, referring to President Donald Trump. “We’re very clear that our values are to protect all of our residents regardless of where we come from. We want to protect families, not tear them apart.”
Schaaf’s remarks came on a day when rumors were swirling that ICE planned to launch a series of Bay Area raids — arresting as many as 1,500 illegal aliens — because California has become a Sanctuary State and several communities have adopted Sanctuary City policies.
“We are exercising our legal right to be a Sanctuary City and to protect our residents,” Schaaf told KPIX 5 of her opposition to ICE raids. “The fact that the federal government is suggesting that it is actively retaliating against jurisdictions that are exercising their right to have sanctuary policies — that is what is illegal.”
When asked if she were willing to go to jail to defend those policies, Schaaf answered emphatically “Yes!” – READ MORE
[give_form id=”79809″] [divider][/divider]The state’s top cop issued a warning to California employers Thursday that businesses face legal repercussions, including fines up to $10,000, if they assist federal immigration authorities with a potential widespread immigration crackdown.
“It’s important, given these rumors that are out there, to let people know – more specifically today, employers – that if they voluntarily start giving up information about their employees or access to their employees in ways that contradict our new California laws, they subject themselves to actions by my office,” state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said at a news conference. “We will prosecute those who violate the law.”
Becerra’s warning comes as fears spread of mass workplace raids following reports that immigration agents plan to target Northern California communities for deportations due in part to the state’s “sanctuary” law, which seeks to restrict local law enforcement agencies’ ability to cooperate with immigration authorities.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s acting director Thomas Homan told a Fox News host earlier this month that “California better hold on tight… If the politicians in California don’t want to protect their communities, then ICE will,” prompting a query from Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris to brief them on how raids are prioritized. – READ MORE
[give_form id=”79809″] [divider][/divider]Federal officials are planning a major sweep of the Bay Area and other Northern California areas in the coming weeks as part of an operation to target more than 1,500 undocumented immigrants in the area, The San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
The source told The Chronicle that the sweep is expected to be the largest of its kind since President Trump took office.ICE officials declined to comment on the operation, the paper reported.
Upon hearing about the planned the operation Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., accused the Trump administration of trying to make a political point.
California has clashed with law enforcement over immigration enforcement for a number of years. In October, California Governor Jerry Brown signed SB54 into law, which effectively limits local police from cooperating with federal authorities. – READ MORE