Immigration

Bay Area Leaders Speak Out Following ICE Raid Concerns

Growing concerns about the threat of immigration raids have Bay Area leaders speaking out.

“San Francisco is and will continue to be a sanctuary city,” San Francisco Acting Mayor London Breed reaffirmed. “We will not abandon our values because the federal administration makes threats against our community and our city San Francisco will come from a position of power, not panic.”

Concern about possible immigration enforcement action on undocumented immigrants in Northern California is growing. She noted the city has increased funding for legal services and partnered with community-based organizations. A rapid response hotline has also been implemented and has seen an overwhelming increase in calls from a handful a day to 500 last week.

“A lot of calls we have been seeing are false rumors,” Breed said. “People have been saying that they have been seeing ICE at different locations and we have done the verification it has not been true.”

While they have not seen a spike in enforcement actions, the mayor says they are preparing for that and that the tone has changed under the Trump administration.

Breed also reiterated that San Francisco Police will not assist with any immigration enforcement action and the San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said that, “that has been a long standing law of the city and policy of the SFPD.”

In the South Bay, a message of unity in support of immigrant communities continues as the county of Santa Clara outlined a campaign to improve outreach on services and available support.

“We value our community no matter color or what type of person or what documentation an individual has,” Santa Clara County Executive Jeffrey Smith said. “We will always support our immigrant communities.”

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