Report: ICE Flew Thousands Of Detainees In And Out Of Oakland Int'l Airport
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- ICE chartered nearly a thousand flights in and out of Oakland International Airport between 2010 and 2018, carrying nearly 43,000 detainees to be deported or transferred to other detention centers, according to a report by the Mercury News.
Oakland is a prominent sanctuary city, which bars any city department from cooperating with the enforcement of federal civil immigration laws. The Port of Oakland oversees the airport.
"Absolutely shocked, as a sanctuary city, I would expect that Oakland knew better," said Pleasanton resident Natalie Beckerman.
Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf gained national attention after pledging to alert undocumented immigrants of any planned raids to counter the Trump administration's crackdown.
Her spokesperson Justin Berton said in a statement to KPIX 5: "The Mayor's office is looking into this matter as this issue is of great interest to the Mayor and our Oakland values. We are currently looking into this activity to understand it and address it."
"It's such a diverse area and the fact that they're targeting this area and deporting people straight from this airport is just depressing," said San Francisco resident Tyler Rinaldi.
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ICE said in a statement that it made an internal operational decision to discontinue the use of charter flights out of Oakland in October of last year. It coordinates flight operations on a case by case basis and it does not share specific logistic details on detainee transfers.