California Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf tipped off the illegal immigrant community that the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) planned arrests in the area. Immigration advocates have occasionally warned the community of rumors of ICE raids, but Ms. Schaaf’s decision was striking because it came from the mayor of one of California’s largest cities.
The mayor’s warnings proved correct. Since then ICE officers have arrested more than 150 people in Northern California in an operation ICE said was targeting “public safety threats.” A federal official said that about 800 “criminals” avoided immigration arrests because of Libby Schaaf’s alert.
ICE Deputy Director Thomas D. Homan said, “Being a law enforcement officer is already dangerous enough, but to give the criminals a heads up that we’re coming in the next 24 hours, increases that risk.” “I watched her statement when she said her priority is the safety of her community, but what she did has the exact opposite effect.” “She gave them warning, and there’s 800 that we were unable to locate because of that warning, so that community is a lot less safe than it would have been.”
“I’ll say this to the mayor and every other politician that wants to vilify the men and women of ICE: We’re not going away. We’re going to keep enforcing the law,” “What she did was no better than a gang lookout Yelling ‘Police!’ when a police cruiser comes into the neighborhood, except she did it to the entire community.” “It’s beyond the pale, This is a whole new low to intentionally warn criminals that law enforcement is coming. I can’t believe it happened.”
“We have to fight against the racist myth that the Trump Administration is trying to perpetuate. That immigrants are dangerous criminals,” Schaaf said. “There is nothing further from the truth. This is racist and it’s false.”
ICE has deported Armando Nunez-Salgado to Mexico four times. He was a gang member and has accumulated criminal convictions in California that have resulted in more than 15 years of prison sentencings. His 14-year-old daughter Isabel Salgado dissolved into tears. “I cried. I got very emotional, I was really sad,” said Isabel. His wife Elena Ponce said “So the fact that they took someone off like that. I don’t see the sense in it all. He wasn’t a danger to the community in any way.”
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On Saturday night, residents of Oakland received an urgent message from Mayor Libby Schaaf.
Schaaf said she had heard from multiple sources that immigration agents would be conducting enforcement operations “starting as soon as within the next 24 hours” and urged those here illegally to take precautions.
“Earlier today, I learned from multiple credible sources that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is preparing to conduct an operation in the Bay Area, including Oakland, starting as soon as within the next 24 hours,” she said. “As Mayor of Oakland, I am sharing this information publicly not to panic our residents but to protect them.”
The message stunned many. On Monday, some of that surprise turned to confusion and anger as large-scale immigration sweeps did not materialize.
Schaaf’s action has sparked debate about what role politicians and city governments should play in spreading information — both confirmed and unconfirmed — about possible federal immigration sweeps.
Like many California cities, Oakland has declared itself a sanctuary for those here illegally, and officials there have vowed to fight President Trump’s promised immigration crackdown. Tensions have heightened in recent weeks as administration officials have talked about targeting California for increased immigration enforcement.
Across California, leaders said they find themselves in a difficult position as they fight federal law enforcement actions. Typically, they said, local and federal officials work in concert. But on immigration, they are at odds.
A battle heated up over whether Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf should be jailed for warning the community that a sweep was coming. “What I did was legal,” and the morally right thing to do, Schaaf told reporters at Oakland City Hall on Wednesday, defending herself against calls that federal authorities charge her with obstruction of justice.
Schaaf faced a sea of angry calls over her message. In a news conference on Sunday, she said her “priority is to keep this community safe.”
“It is not my wish to panic people but to ensure that they are prepared with information. That they know their rights as well as their responsibilities and know about the resources that this community offers,” she said.
“Spreading rumors of ICE activities has been used as a tactic to strike fear and paralysis in the immigrant communities,” she said. “This is something I thought about very carefully before bringing this information forward; but due to the reliability of my sources and the fact that I received this from multiple sources, I felt that it was my duty to share the information.”
Schaaf told reporters that she has no regrets and was morally obligated to give undocumented families a heads-up Saturday. “I hope we take this moment to recognize that we have to fight against the racist myth that the Trump Administration is trying to perpetuate. That immigrants are dangerous criminals,” Schaaf said. “There is nothing further from the truth. This is racist and it’s false.”
Schaaf also said that “political retaliation should not be tolerated” for Oakland being a sanctuary city.
Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told Fox News, however, that sanctuary jurisdictions like San Francisco and Oakland “shield dangerous criminal aliens from federal law enforcement at the expense of public safety. Because these jurisdictions prevent ICE from arresting criminal aliens in the secure confines of a jail, they also force ICE officers to make more arrests out in the community, which poses increased risks for law enforcement and the public.”
“What she did was no better than a gang lookout yelling ‘police!’ when a police cruiser comes into the neighborhood, except she did it to the entire community,” said Homan. He said Schaaf is to blame for ICE agents capturing just 150 of the 864 undocumented immigrants they were seeking earlier this week, and he accused the mayor of putting agents in danger. The Justice Department, he said, is reviewing the matter.
“I’ll say this to the mayor and every other politician that wants to vilify the men and women of ICE: We’re not going away, we’re going to keep enforcing the law,” Homan said.
“Being a law enforcement officer is already dangerous enough, but to give the criminals a heads up that we’re coming in the next 24 hours, increases that risk,” he said. “I watch her statement when she said her priority is the safety of her community, but what she did has the exact opposite effect.”
“What she did is no better than a gang lookout yelling ‘police’ when a police cruiser comes in the neighborhood, except she did it to an entire community. This is beyond the pale,” he said.
Homan said assault on ICE agents were up over 50 percent this year. “This is a whole new norm, to intentionally warn criminals that law enforcement is coming. I just can’t believe it’s happening … she put law enforcement officials at risk … Our officers are putting their lives on the line every day to defend this country and to defend their community. And when politicians choose to take care of their political ambitions and make political statements on the backs of law enforcement it makes our jobs more difficult.” He added: “We are not going away. We are going to keep enforcing the law.”
KPIX reported
ICE agents took Armando Nunez Salgado into custody outside his home. According to family members, he was in the backyard when agents walked right in through the side gate. His 14-year-old daughter Isabel Salgado dissolved into tears.
“I cried. I got very emotional, I was really sad,” said Isabel. “I mean to watch someone who is part of your everyday life and then you just have to watch him leave without saying goodbye. It kind of hurts.”
Armando is a construction worker who has been in America more than 30 years. His wife Elena Ponce said his parents brought him to the U.S. when he was only four years old.
But it turns out, Armando does have a dangerous past. After our interview, his family members told KPIX 5 he was involved in gangs and drugs for a long time.
In fact, at one point, he was on ICE’s most wanted list for charges of felony force and assault with a deadly weapon.
ICE statement, about Armando Nuñez-Salgado
On Sunday, Feb. 25, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) San Francisco Fugitive Operations Team arrested ICE fugitive Armando Nuñez-Salgado, 38, a citizen of Mexico and documented Sureño gang member, who has been previously removed by ICE on four prior occasions. Over the past 18 years he has accumulated criminal convictions in California that have resulted in more than 15 years of prison sentencings. His criminal convictions include assault with a deadly weapon (statutorily enhanced because of his gang member status), burglary, hit-and-run causing injury and evading a peace officer.
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Oakland mayor attacks ICE as 'racist' and tipped off immigrants about ICE raid: https://t.co/qVdavxHGhy via @YouTube
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