Oakland mayor attacks ICE as ‘racist’ and tipped off immigrants about ICE raid

California Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf tipped off the illegal immigrant community that the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) planned arrests in the area.

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 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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