This week, Oakland’s City Council unanimously passed Citywide Councilmember, Rebecca Kaplan’s Resolution to clarify that Oakland’s Police Department is to not collude with ICE, including in providing traffic support for ICE raids.

Kaplan, an active supporter of Oakland’s Sanctuary City status, authored legislation last July calling for the Oakland Police Department to immediately cut ties with ICE, the full City Council unanimously passed Kaplan’s legislation.

However, in August 2017, OPD and the City Administration authorized assistance for ICE agents who were conducting a raid in West Oakland. The raid lead to the detention of someone who is not being charged with a crime, and is now facing deportation.

There has been extensive community outcry about the West Oakland raid, and the inappropriate use of OPD to assist in it.
“It is NOT acceptable for the Oakland administration to collude with ICE, as this federal agency is targeting non-criminals, harassing people based on their national origin, and undermining our justice system,” said Kaplan.

“The head of ICE under Trump has publicly stated that his intention is to strike fear into communities, and now he is targeting California and cities like Oakland,” she said.

“The actions of ICE worsen community-police relations, and make everyone less safe, by causing victims and witnesses of crime to be afraid to come forward.  Oakland should not be colluding in the Trump Administration’s racist agenda, by defending the actions of ICE, the Oakland Administration is undermining the trust of our community.”

Kaplan’s Resolution to clarify that OPD is not to collude with ICE comes as federal plans are underway to conduct massive ICE sweeps in the Bay Area. Trump’s ICE Director Thomas Homan has threatened to target immigrants and elected officials of sanctuary cities.

Councilmember Kaplan and others have urged that at times where our most vulnerable neighbors and community members are at-risk of being torn from their families, and in some cases, taken from the only country they have known, the city must stand in solidarity in support of all who live in our community, and refuse to participate in Trump’s misuse of federal law enforcement for prejudiced and political purposes.

“Trump’s head of ICE issued a threat against public officials who oppose the targeting of immigrants, and also threatened the safety of the public, directing that more ICE agents enter California communities, arrest people in public spaces, and target people based on national origin rather than focusing on serious crimes,” said Kaplan.

“This behavior is entirely inappropriate for someone running a law enforcement agency, as it perpetuates racial prejudice, and weakens the community-police relations that are vital to stopping serious crime.  I continue to stand opposed to such actions, and will continue to denounce, and refuse to collude in, Trump’s racist agenda.”

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