[SF Chronicle] The relationship between U.S. immigration officials and California’s liberal leaders soured long ago, but Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s decision to warn potential targets of federal arrest that an immigration sweep could be imminent was an extraordinary escalation.
Schaaf said she issued the alert Saturday night after receiving confidential tips from "credible sources" who revealed that U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement, known as ICE, was planning arrests across the Bay Area as soon as Sunday.
he and Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick discussed the reports before Schaaf concluded the information was solid enough to go public, according to people familiar with her thinking. Schaaf said she also conferred with "legal counsel" to make sure she wasn’t opening herself up to federal prosecution.
The news release that resulted ‐ which Schaaf said was intended "not to panic our residents but to protect them" ‐ was among the most assertive maneuvers by a local politician to counter the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants. The message: Not only will Oakland and its police force not cooperate with ICE, but the city will actively seek to thwart efforts to detain and deport immigrants. |