ICE Agents Detain Undocumented Immigrants In Several Cities
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained several immigrants who were facing deportation orders Sunday, including a Napa man who came to the United States as a youngster.
But the massive raids across Northern California that Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf predicted failed to materialize.
Armando Nunez Salgado was arrested by ICE agents at his family's Napa home Sunday morning. He was one of at least 11 taken into custody in Northern California Sunday. His mother-in-law said Salgado worked for the family's construction company.
She told KPIX 5 that he came to America when he was a four-year-old child. He is now in his 30s.
ICE agents also detained people with deportation orders in El Sobrante, Pinole and Atwater (Merced County), according to Maricela Gutierrez, executive director of the San Jose-based Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network, or SIREN.
Immigrants rights advocates say there were five arrests in Merced County. There were two arrests each in Contra Costa and Sacramento counties and one each in Monterey and Napa counties.
While the widespread raids rumored to span from Chico to Sacramento to Salinas failed to materialize Sunday, Schaaf warned they could come anytime in the next three days. Immigrant rights groups remained on high alert.
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Schaaf first sounded the alarm bell for her city's "most vulnerable" residents on Saturday night.
"I am sharing this information publicly not to panic our residents but to protect them," Schaaf said in a statement Saturday night.
Schaaf said she did not know the details of the ICE operation or exact locations.
In the statement, the mayor provided a link to a Centro Legal de la Raza's website which offers information about legal rights and options for people facing detention.
"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," said Schaaf.
According to Schaaf, Oakland schools, police officers and business owners are prohibited from assisting ICE agents.
"Oakland is a city of law-abiding immigrants and families who deserve to live free from the constant threat of arrest and deportation," she said. "I believe it is my duty and moral obligation as Mayor to give those families fair warning when that threat appears imminent."
But Oakland City Councilman Noel Gallo questioned the mayor's motives for sounding the alarm.
"It's like (President) Donald Trump," he said. "Anytime he wants to draw attention he talks about immigration and the wall. He talks about all these other immigration related subjects that grab attention."
And why does Gallo think Schaaf issued the warning?
"Well, you know, we're all running for office," he said.
Like Oakland, many Bay Area communities are Sanctuary Cities and will not allow local law enforcement to aid the ICE agents in any way. The agency, reportedly has brought in dozens of agents from outside the area to carry out the operation.
Unlike massive ICE efforts elsewhere in the country, the notorious MS-13 gang is not the target of the Northern California raids. The targets of this action are illegal immigrants who have been arrested in the past for crimes ranging from DUIs to child abuse to major felonies.
ICE has threatened to launch such a large scale sweep for months.
In early February, federal immigration agents launched a crackdown on Northern California businesses, serving them with three-day notices demanding they produce proof their employees are legally allowed to work in the United States.
While no immediate arrests were reported, fears mounted that ICE agents would unleashed a series of raids similar to the ones that targeted 7-Eleven stores in early January. Agents swept into 98 stores nationwide with 21 suspected undocumented employees detained.
Congresswoman Jackie Speier was critical of the raids, claiming President Donald Trump had drawn a bulls-eye on California over it's sanctuary state and widespread sanctuary city policies.
"I think these ICE raids are targeted at California companies in particular because we're a blue state," she said. "I hate to say that. But I think there is a fair amount of penalty we're paying. And the president wants to make an example of California."
Less than two weeks ago, ICE announced that its agents had arrested 212 people in a five-day operation around the Los Angeles region.
Agents also served 122 notices to businesses that they will be audited to determine whether they are employing people who are in the country illegally.
And in January, ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan lambasted Gov. Jerry Brown over a new state law that strictly limits the cooperation of local law enforcement with federal immigration authorities when illegal immigrants are booked into jail.
A day after the law took effect in California, he said ICE will "vastly increase our enforcement footprint in the state of California."
"California better hold on tight," he said. "They're about to see a lot more special agents, a lot more deportation officers in the state of California. If the politicians in California don't want to protect their communities, then ICE will."
