Featured
Moms 4 Housing Evicted from Vacant Home by Deputies After Verdict Favored Owners

Moms 4 Housing advocacy group was evicted from a West Oakland home in the early hours of Tuesday Jan. 14 after judgment came in favor of corporate homeowner Wedgewood on Friday, Jan. 10. The advocacy group took the case to court in an attempt to stay in the home.
Bearcat armored vehicles descended on the neighborhood at approximately 5 a.m. while deputies in camouflage and other police dressed in full riot gear blocked protesters view of the arrests performed by Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies.
In a mass text alert Moms 4 Housing said, “2 moms (Misty & Tolami) and 2 neighborhood supporters (Jesse & Walter) were arrested, and are being held at Santa Rita Jail.”
Hundreds of supporters had gathered at the West Oakland home on Magnolia Street the evening before the eviction after Moms 4 Housing sent a mass text announcing that the Alameda Sherriffs Department was coming to evict them. Supporters sang, chanted and rallied together peacefully while many stood in front of the house ready for arrest.
Dominique Walker of Moms 4 Housing moved into the vacant house illegally on Magnolia Street with her children and other women from the advocacy group on Nov. 18, 2019, after the women found no suitable or affordable ways to obtain housing in Oakland. In an interview with KAWL on Dec. 11. Walker said the occupation of the house came out of absolute desperation where the only option is to occupy a house or live with her children on the streets.
“The system is designed to protect the wealthy. It wasn’t designed for us so we never thought we would win in the unjust system. Yet we are here and we’re not leaving,” Walker said on Friday at a press conference held after the ruling.
“We are bringing awareness to this national and global housing crisis. And we don’t intend to stop. Housing is a human right,” said Walker. “We’re working to change not only the loss here but all over the world around housing. We want to create a housing registry. We want to outlaw short term rentals. We want to be able to use eminent domain to get housing from these corporate speculators out of our communities.”
Director of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Action Carroll Fife spoke first at Friday’s press conference calling attention to a narrative she said she saw often in media that blamed the moms for being homeless.
”I really want to highlight how this particular situation has called into the forefront of how people are not valued,” Fife said. “I hear that they should work harder. That they shouldn’t have children.”
“They work two or three jobs,” Fife said of Moms 4 Housing advocates. “Some of them lost their partners through car accidents, or bad health because they didn’t have access to health care. So we want people to understand that this could be anyone.”
Fife continued to say the housing problems Moms 4 Housing face affects everyone. “The people who can save up enough for a down payment on homes have to compete with corporations like Wedgewood who have hundreds of shell organizations and limited liability corporations that buy houses in bulk,” Fife said.
According to NBC Bay Area, Wedgewood LLC is a southern California based real estate home-flipping giant with an extensive national portfolio and a business model “Centered around buying, fixing, and quickly flipping homes.”
Wedgewood said it would offer to pay a nonprofit shelter to house the women for two months if they moved out before the eviction, according to SFgate. The company also claimed they plan to work with a nonprofit to serve at-risk youth through jobs and skill development — according to Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan, who questioned the company’s intentions in a statement last week. “Wedgewood appears to have no office or personnel anywhere in this region, no local business license, and no track record can be found of performing this type of work,” said Kaplan.
Sam Singer, president of Singer Associates Public Relations San Francisco — the PR firm hired to represent Wedgewood — took to Twitter on Friday to respond to the court ruling. “Wedgewood will now renovate the Oakland home illegally occupied by squatters @moms4housing using at-risk Oakland youth who will benefit from learning new skills, improving neighborhood,” Singer said.
Walker was not arrested because she and Fife were at KPFA in Berkeley for a live broadcast with Democracy Now! at the moment of the eviction.
Activism
LA to the Bay: Thousands Protest in Mission District Against Immigration Raids, Travel Bans
Activists and allies alike gathered outside of the 24th Street Mission BART Station and City Hall to denounce the increased immigration raids happening in L.A. and Donald Trump’s decision to send hundreds of National Guard members to control protesters.

By Magaly Muñoz
Thousands of people walked the streets of San Francisco’s Mission District Monday evening in protest of the recent ICE raids across California, and the escalating tensions brought by military intervention in Los Angeles over the last week.
Activists and allies alike gathered outside of the 24th Street Mission BART Station and City Hall to denounce the increased immigration raids happening in L.A. and Donald Trump’s decision to send hundreds of National Guard members to control protesters.
San Francisco non-profit Mission Action announced the protest plan Sunday night and led the amped crowd in cheers against anti-immigrant hate.
“La gente unida, no será vencida!” and “Move ICE, get out the Bay” chants were heard for a mile from 24th Street to 16th Street Mission BART and back around towards Valencia Street.
District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder attended the evening protest and applauded the community for their resilience in the streets over the last two days.

Protestors holding a Mexican flag for a rally in San Francisco. Thousands of people gathered at 24th Street Mission BART Station to participate in a protest about the increased immigration raids across the country. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.
“It’s up to every single legislator [to stand up for the community], but first and foremost, the people, you all are gonna be the ones to make sure that Trump, ICE, and the military do not set foot in the Mission,” Fielder said to the crowd.
Fielder, along with two other Supervisors, also spoke at a press conference earlier in the day in front of City Hall with other officials and community leaders about the travel ban that went into effect last Wednesday and the immigration arrests from the week before. Speakers also denounced the more than 150 arrests made by local police during a protest Sunday night.
District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton said it was the public’s moral obligation to disobey unjust laws.

A protester holding an upside-down American flag at an anti-ICE and travel ban press conference in front of San Francisco City Hall. Thousands of people marched through the Mission District to protest against the increase in immigration raids across the state. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.
“The systemic oppression that has taken place now in the U.S. to remove our constitutional rights to assemble, to protest, to fight against moral and unjust rules and policies is put in place to tear us apart and to promote fear in everyone,” Walton said.
Around 15 people were detained by ICE at the immigration court last week, and at least half a dozen more by the time this story was published, immigration lawyers reported.
A new travel ban has also barred people from 12 countries, mostly from Africa and the Middle East, because the Trump administration said they “pose a very high risk to the United States.”
Community leaders said this action is continued discrimination against Black and Middle Eastern immigrants who are seeking opportunities in America.
An immigration lawyer urged people at the press conference to stay calm and meet peacefully because federal officials were going to be looking for reasons to escalate the tensions and arrest residents for simply attending protests.
“We have to remind ourselves; we all have a history. Our families survived discrimination before,” she said. “We will survive this, too. So long as we don’t let them divide us. Let’s fight this together.”
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of June 11 – 17, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 11 – 17, 2025

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Federal Raids Target Migrant Kids, Split Families
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The Trump administration has reportedly removed at least 500 migrant children from their homes across the United States and placed them into government custody, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
The Trump administration has reportedly removed at least 500 migrant children from their homes across the United States and placed them into government custody, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The children, many of whom were living with family members or other vetted sponsors, were taken during so-called “welfare checks” carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies. According to CNN, the operations are part of a larger campaign launched shortly after President Donald Trump returned to office, with federal authorities setting up a “war room” inside the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review data on children who entered the country alone and were later released to sponsors. Officials have used the room to coordinate efforts between agencies, including ICE and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which oversees the custody of unaccompanied migrant children.
Trump officials claim the effort is aimed at protecting children placed in unsafe conditions or with unqualified sponsors, pointing to cases where children were released to individuals with criminal backgrounds or those involved in smuggling. Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the welfare checks have led to the arrests of some sponsors and the transfer of children into ORR custody. Federal data shows more than 2,500 children are currently in ORR custody. CNN reported that the average stay has grown significantly, from 67 days in December 2024 to 170 days by April 2025. Former Health and Human Services officials say new vetting rules—including income requirements, government-issued ID, and DNA tests—have made it far more difficult for parents and guardians, particularly those who are undocumented, to reclaim their children.
In some cases, reunifications that had already been scheduled were canceled. A recent lawsuit details how two brothers, ages 7 and 14, remain in government care because their mother cannot meet new documentation requirements under the revised policies. Mark Greenberg, a former senior HHS official, stated that the approach puts children in a difficult situation. “To the extent, the goal is to determine whether children are in danger or in need of help, this isn’t a good way to do that because it creates fear that anything they say could be used against their parent or family member,” he said. Immigration enforcement agents reportedly have visited children’s homes and asked about their journey to the U.S., school attendance, and upcoming immigration court appearances. Legal advocates say these visits, which sometimes include the FBI, are not standard child welfare procedures and can create fear and confusion among minors.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed the agency’s role, saying, “Protecting children is a critical mission for the FBI, and we will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to secure their safety and well-being.” Multiple outlets noted that the Trump administration has not provided clear evidence that large numbers of children are missing. Instead, it has referenced a Department of Homeland Security inspector general report from 2023 that noted more than 291,000 unaccompanied minors had not received notices to appear in immigration court. Former officials note that these figures do not necessarily indicate that the children are missing; some lacked updated addresses or were affected by administrative backlogs.
Within HHS, officials were instructed to expedite policy changes. Former ORR Ombudsman Mary Giovagnoli stated that a senior ICE official, Melissa Harper, was temporarily appointed to lead ORR. Her short tenure was followed by Angie Salazar, another former ICE official who now frequently communicates with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Trump’s team argues the Biden administration allowed thousands of unaccompanied children to enter the country without sufficient oversight. Jen Smyers, a former ORR deputy director, stated that all sponsors underwent thorough vetting, including Department of Justice background checks and reviews of the sex offender registry. “No amount of vetting is a predictor of the future,” she said. The Miami Herald recently reported that a 17-year-old foster child in Florida was removed from his home in shackles and transferred to ICE custody. The boy and his mother had crossed the border without documentation, but he had been living in a state-supervised foster placement. The case raised concerns about the state’s cooperation with federal enforcement and the message it sends to immigrant families. Concerns about federal custody of vulnerable children are not confined to immigration.
In North Carolina, a 7-month-old baby died after being left in a hot minivan by her foster mother, who now faces charges of negligent child abuse and involuntary manslaughter. In Hawaii, dozens of children have been forced to sleep in government offices and hotels due to a shortage of foster placements. In North Dakota, a foster couple has been charged in the death of a 3-year-old after surveillance footage showed the child being repeatedly assaulted. “These cases show what happens when systems meant to protect children fail them,” said Laura Nally, director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights Children’s Program. “There’s a growing concern that these welfare checks are being used to carry out mass detentions of sponsors and unnecessarily return children to government custody.”
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