Alameda County’s top lawyer sent a cease-and-desist letter to federal immigration authorities Monday demanding that their agents stay away from Santa Rita Jail.
Interim County Counsel Andrea Weddle sent the letter to Julio Hernandez, head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s San Francisco office.
In it, Weddle says ICE agents have been using the jail’s parking lot, lobby and surrounding areas to make arrests, which is prohibited by a county ordinance and “creates significant safety risks” for Alameda County Sheriff’s Office personnel and members of the public.
The letter cites two recent examples of ICE activity that put jail personnel and visitors in danger.
On Nov. 1, an agent allegedly chased someone from the parking lot into the jail’s public lobby and “forcibly detained him.” A week later, a pair of ICE agents “engaged in a physical confrontation” with some people in the same lobby.
“ICE agents engaging in physical confrontations with members of the public in the jail parking lot, lobby, or other facilities creates potentially dangerous and unpredictable circumstances carrying an unacceptable risk of confusion and physical harm,” Weddle wrote.
Additionally, according to the letter, ICE agents continue to use county property for enforcement activity despite being instructed not to by Sheriff’s Office command staff.
Four demands
The letter makes four demands — that ICE cease all unauthorized use of county property, cease all civil immigration enforcement activity that compromises safety, notify its agents that the jail and other county properties are off limits and that ICE officials preserve evidence, including bodycam footage, of agent activity in and around the jail.
An ICE spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the agents are conducting lawful enforcement activities.
“The Trump Administration is utilizing all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history, just as President Trump promised,” according to the statement. “We will not apologize for defending the homeland — this is exactly what the American people voted for.”
“We will continue to defend our communities, protect families, uphold everyone’s rights, and work diligently to ensure that all residents can access essential county services without fear or intimidation.”
Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas
Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas released a statement saying that the county is determined to stand up to unauthorized ICE activity.
“Alameda County will not stand by while our residents are targeted and our public resources are misused,” Fortunato Bas said. “We will continue to defend our communities, protect families, uphold everyone’s rights, and work diligently to ensure that all residents can access essential county services without fear or intimidation.”
She said that the agency’s aggressive enforcement tactics are scaring people away from seeking medical care and other county services, and are keeping friends and family from visiting the jail and providing support.
ICE appears to have ramped up its activity in recent weeks, with 19 arrests reported in multiple cities across the county, Fortunato Bas said, including Oakland, Hayward, Livermore, Union City, Berkeley and Dublin, where Santa Rita Jail is located.
A litany of letters
In addition to Santa Rita, jails in Santa Clara and Monterey counties have seen some high-profile ICE activity in recent days and Monterey County officials sent their own cease-and-desist letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday.
That letter followed ICE activity in and around county properties that allegedly violated parking restrictions, blocked ingress and egress into county facilities and otherwise featured agents “operating in an unsafe manner,” according to county officials.
One such incident on Oct. 27 resulted in the county jail being put on lockdown for three hours.
Monterey County Counsel Susan Blitch said ICE vehicles have been seen at the Natividad Medical Center, the jail, a soccer complex and at juvenile hall.
“The interruption of services to the public seeking medical care is especially troubling,” Blitch wrote.
On Tuesday, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and Oakland Unified School District Superintendent Denise Saddler released a joint statement condemning the recent surge in ICE activity.
“We will not tolerate actions designed to spread fear in our city,” according to the statement. “We will not allow intimidation targeting our families, disrupting our schools, or dividing our neighborhoods.”
Lee and Saddler urged people to report any suspected ICE activity to the Alameda County Immigration Legal Education Partnership rapid response hotline at 510-241-4011.
