City Government
Council President Kaplan Denounces ICE Deportation Flights From Oakland Airport
Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan has responded to reports that Oakland Airport has been used for ICE deportation flights.
Kaplan had previously authored the successful Oakland City Council Resolution prohibiting colluding with ICE, including opposing police actions when the Oakland administration had authorized OPD to assist in an ICE raid in West Oakland.
According to news reports, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement chartered about 1,000 flights between 2010 and 2018 from Oakland, carrying detainees on their way to deportation or transfer between detention centers.
In total, about 43,000 people were flown in and out of Oakland during that period. Nearly 27,000 were being deported.
Kaplan has reached out to Port leaders in response to these allegations. The airport is under the governance of the Port of Oakland, which is under a separate board, not reporting to the City Council. The port is governed by a Board of Commissioners, who are selected by the Mayor.
Kaplan is seeking information from port leadership about the news reports.
According to information received thus far, the flights ended in October 2018.
Kaplan is continuing to follow up with other personnel to determine how the flights were authorized and to validate that they are not continuing.
“As the author of the City of Oakland policy prohibiting colluding with ICE, I want to clearly oppose any use of Oakland Airport or other public facilities for these deportation activities,” said Kaplan. “I have reached out to leaders at the port, to help determine what has happened and why. Thus far, I have been told that the flights stopped in October 2018. I am continuing to follow up to seek to determine how this took place.”
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Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025
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Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025
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IN MEMORIAM: William ‘Bill’ Patterson, 94
Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.
William “Bill” Patterson, 94, of Little Rock, Arkansas, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2025, at his home in Oakland, CA. He was born on May 19, 1931, to Marie Childress Patterson and William Benjamin Patterson in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Dunbar High School and traveled to Oakland, California, in 1948. William Patterson graduated from San Francisco State University, earning both graduate and undergraduate degrees. He married Euradell “Dell” Patterson in 1961. Bill lovingly took care of his wife, Dell, until she died in 2020.
Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.
He served on the boards of Oakland’s Urban Strategies Council, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, and the Oakland Workforce Development Board.
He was a three-term president of the Oakland branch of the NAACP.
Bill was initiated in the Gamma Alpha chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
In 1997 Bill was appointed to the East Bay Utility District Board of Directors. William Patterson was the first African American Board President and served the board for 27 years.
Bill’s impact reached far beyond his various important and impactful positions.
Bill mentored politicians, athletes and young people. Among those he mentored and advised are legends Joe Morgan, Bill Russell, Frank Robinson, Curt Flood, and Lionel Wilson to name a few.
He is survived by his son, William David Patterson, and one sister, Sarah Ann Strickland, and a host of other family members and friends.
A celebration of life service will take place at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center (Calvin Simmons Theater) on November 21, 2025, at 10 AM.
His services are being livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1250167107131991/
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Euradell and William Patterson scholarship fund TBA.
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