Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Remains Defiant About ICE Warning

OAKLAND, CA —Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf defended her actions regarding an announcement she made over the weekend, warning residents of an upcoming operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"My statement on Saturday was meant to give all residents time to learn their rights and know their legal options. It was my intention that one mother, or one father, would use the information to help keep their family together," Schaaf said in a statement.

"I do not regret sharing this information. It is Oakland's legal right to be a sanctuary city and we have not broken any laws. We believe our community is safer when families stay together," she said.

Earlier Tuesday, ICE officials confirmed that agents did in fact begin conducting an operation in Northern California Sunday, in which 150 undocumented immigrants were arrested.

In a statement, ICE Deputy Director Thomas Homan said, "Thanks to the dedicated and professional work of ICE deportation officers, we were able to remove many public safety threats from the streets of the Bay Area during the past few days."

"However, 864 criminal aliens and public safety threats remain at large in the community and I have to believe that some of them were able to elude us thanks to the mayor's irresponsible decision," Homan said, referring to Schaaf's announcement Saturday.

Homan also claimed Schaaf put his agents at risk and increased the likelihood of "collateral arrests," in which individuals who were not the intended target of an operation end up getting detained.

In the days since Schaaf's announcement, some have called for her arrest on federal charges including East Bay resident Ron Cohen, who is running for congress in 2018. Cohen filed a complaint with the U.S. Attorney's Office as well as the Alameda County District Attorney alleging that Schaaf's news conference
amounted to a violation of the Immigration and Naturalization Act.

"Mayor Schaaf's statements were directly intended to impede the work of ICE officers," the complaint states.

Cohen alleges that Schaaf committed a felony by willfully impeding the work of immigration agents enforcing federal laws. "I'm doing this because I believe in it," Cohen said Tuesday evening about his motivations. "I'm strongly upset about this."

Those apprehended by federal agents in the last few days include 38-year-old Armando Nunez-Salgado in Napa County. ICE alleges that Nunez-Salgado is a documented gang member with criminal convictions for
assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, hit-and-run causing injury as well as evading a peace officer.

Agents also arrested two Mexican nationals with previous convictions in Bay Point and San Francisco, although their names were not provided.

They're still looking for a Mexican national with previous drug and weapons convictions and a Honduran national who's been arrested in the past for drug and sex crimes. Both individuals are believed to reside in
Oakland.

"We know that law-abiding residents live in fear of arrest and deportation everyday," Schaaf said in her statement. "I want to remind those who may need legal representation, to contact the following website:
https://centrolegal.org/acilep/. Employers should also consult this link to understand their obligations and responsibilities under state law."

San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell also responded to the news of the operations, saying in a statement, "San Francisco is and will always remain a Sanctuary City."

"As the Trump Administration pursues their political plan of haphazardly punishing sanctuary cities, we will not cower. We stand with our hardworking, law-abiding immigrant neighbors and we are unified in our
response to the divisive rhetoric of this president," Farrell said.

— Bay City News