City Government

Community Demands Alameda County Cut Ties with Immigrant Deportation Agency

Published

9 years ago

September 17, 2016

Immigrant rights activists introduced a resolution to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning, demanding that the county uphold due process for immigrants and undocumented residents who are arrested and sent to county jail.

The resolution, which is largely symbolic, puts pressure on Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern to stop cooperating with Immigrant Customs Enforcement (ICE) through a national program called the Priority Enforcement Program (PEP), which has played a large role in mass deportations.

Under the present system, PEP allows local law enforcement to notify ICE when and where people who match immigration databases are released from jail so that they can be picked up and sent to deportation proceedings before their guilt has been proven in court.

According to immigrant rights groups, this is a violation of a person’s right to due process.

“Somebody could be arrested for something minor or major and because they have a misdemeanor from several years ago will get turned over to ICE through PEP notification,” said Laura Polstein, an immigration staff attorney at Centro Legal de la Raza.

Alameda County United in Defense of Immigrant Rights (ACUDIR), a coalition of immigrant rights organizations, worked alongside Supervisor Richard Valle to get the resolution pushed through the Public Protection Committee to the full board.

Groups that make up ACUDIR include Causa Justa: Just Cause, Centro Legal de la Raza, Black Alliance for Just Immigration and East Bay Alliance for Sustainable Economy (EBASE).

San Francisco legally distanced itself from PEP earlier this year after its Board of Supervisors passed the Upholding Due Process law prohibiting the city from providing information to ICE about its detainees.

Now, immigrant rights groups are pushing for Alameda County to follow suit so that communities can feel safer and people’s rights can be upheld.

“I believe the resolution is a great step in reminding our community that it is a critical moment to stand together for the rights of all of our community members,” said Supervisor Valle in a statement to the Post.

“The work we doing are is a reminder to the people in Alameda County that immigrants, irrespective of status, deserve a right to be treated with dignity and respect,” he said.

Community advocates have also criticized PEP for straining the relationship between immigrant communities and local law enforcement since it is seen as the primary gateway to deportation proceedings.

Because of the structure of the county, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors’ resolution is not a law that would be binding but would express what many feel are the county’s values around this issue.

According to Polstein of Centro Legal, it will ultimately be up to Sheriff Ahern to cut ties with ICE.

“We think he will do the right thing eventually,” said Polstein. “He’s an elected official and his actions need to reflect the desires of the community.”

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Related Topics:ACUDIR Alameda County Board of Supervisors deportation detention due process ICE immigrant rights PEP

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

3 days ago

May 25, 2025

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IN MEMORIAM: Nate Holden, State Senator and Longtime Los Angeles Councilmember, Dies at 95

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.” Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Published

1 week ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Former Los Angeles Councilmember and California State Sen. Nate Holden. File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Nathaniel “Nate” Holden, a prominent figure in the city’s politics, passed away at the age of 95, his family confirmed on May 7.

Holden, who represented South Los Angeles for 16 years on the City Council and served one term in the California State Senate, was widely regarded as a forceful advocate for his community.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.”

Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Holden’s journey to political prominence began in the segregated South, where he was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1929. He often recalled the childhood moment when he first heard the governor of Georgia vowing to continue suppressing Black people.

“Doing the best you can for the people. Law and order. Make sure that people’s communities are safe. I did it all,” said Holden, reflecting on his legacy.

Holden is survived by his sons, including former California Assemblymember Chris Holden, who represented a district in Southern California that includes Pasadena and Altadena in Los Angeles County and cities in San Bernardino County.

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Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

1 week ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.