OAKLAND MAYOR BARBARA LEE signed two executive orders Thursday that outline the city’s response to immigration enforcement activity in the city.
The first order sets up a task force to protect the city’s immigrant communities and establishes that the Oakland Police Department will function independently if federal troops are deployed to the city.
The second order prohibits federal agencies from using any city property for civil immigration enforcement operations.
Both orders are in effect as of Thursday.
U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Oakland, Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, Oakland city officials, and representatives from local immigrant support organizations joined Lee at Thursday’s signing ceremony at City Hall.
“We’re not going to allow our streets to be turned into combat zones,” said Lee before signing the executive orders. “Workers are afraid to go to their jobs, families are afraid in their own neighborhoods, and this fear is unacceptable.”
The first executive order that Lee signed calls for the formation of a “Protect The Town” task force to coordinate city departments’ response to immigration enforcement in the city, and to inform and educate residents about the same.
The mayor’s office will also work with the city attorney’s office and the California attorney general’s office to pursue legal action if federal troops are unilaterally deployed to the city.
Lastly, the executive order prohibits Oakland police and other city departments from participating in any federal civil immigration enforcement in the city. OPD will not act under the direction of the National Guard or any other federal troops deployed in the city.
OPD Interim Chief James Beere emphasized that residents should not hesitate to reach out to local police for help or to report suspicious activity.
“Remember, it is safe to call 911,” Beere said. To identify an OPD officer, “look for a blue uniform, look for an OPD patch on their left arm, a badge on their left chest, and a nameplate on their right chest.”
The second executive order prohibits the use of city property as a staging area, processing location, or operational base for any federal civil immigration enforcement activity. City agencies will erect signage to that effect and physical barriers at such properties.
On Tuesday, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved a similar policy to set up “ICE-Free Zones,” prohibiting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using county-owned property for their operations.
Fortunato Bas — who drafted the plans for the county policy — said such policies will ensure that all residents, including immigrants, can access county and city services without fear.
“Oakland and Alameda County are ready to work together to defend our communities from the lawless violence that we are seeing across the country,” she said. “We will not tolerate ICE ignoring our Constitution, our laws, and basic human dignity.”