Bay Area officials reassure immigrants they will be protected, despite looming deportations

"Come at me. We are here to protect the safety of our resident," said State Senator Jesse Arreguin.

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Thursday, January 23, 2025
Bay Area officials reassure immigrants they will be protected
Projected ICE operations led local and state leaders to join forces and reassure Bay Area immigrants that they will be protected.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- President Trump's new administration is ramping up immigration enforcement, with planned raids.

These projected operations led local and state leaders to join forces and reassure Bay Area immigrants that they will be protected.

"We are well prepared. We are not scared. We will protect our immigrant families, and we will continue to thrive no matter who is president," said Chris Iglesias, chief executive officer for Unity Council.

The Trump administration is urging federal prosecutors to investigate officials who interfere with immigration enforcement operations and threatening them with criminal charges.

MORE: Bay Area Afghan refugees legally residing in US fear deportation under Trump administration

Some officials are viewing this as a warning to sanctuary cities. The Bay Area is home to many sanctuaries' cities.

"Come at me. We are here to protect the safety of our residents. California is a sanctuary state and it's critical that we remain a sanctuary state. He will not intimidate us; he will not scare us to do the work we need to do to stand for our values," said Jesse Arreguin, CA State Senator.

California State Senator and former Berkeley Mayor, Jesse Arreguin says the state is ready to fight.

"The money that the state legislature will be approving tomorrow will provide our attorney general the resources to be able to fight these executive orders and unjust policies the Trump administration is putting forward," said Senator Arreguin.

MORE: 22 states sue to stop Trump's order blocking birthright citizenship; 1 suit going to court Thursday

Berkeley's City Council passed a resolution Tuesday night reaffirming Berkeley as a sanctuary city. Alameda County is also stepping up.

"We, in Alameda County, are a sanctuary county and we are unapologetic about it. We are home to over half a million immigrants and refugees. They are my parents, our parents, our neighbors," said Lena Tam, vice president of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

Since 2011, churches and schools have been among the locations deemed "sensitive areas" where immigration agents couldn't arrest undocumented immigrants. This has now changed.

"We think it's critical that we extend these protections particularly because the Trump administration yesterday issued a directive that now ICE agents can go to hospitals, they can go to churches, schools and arrest people which is a departure from the longstanding policy the federal government has," said Senator Arreguin.

MORE: SF Sheriff's Office reaffirms immigrant protection as Trump cracks down on sanctuary cities

San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto said his deputies will neither help nor prevent immigration agents from enforcing laws.

"The federal government already knows the identity of every incarcerated individual - that is when they ask us sometimes if we would put a retainer on somebody, but I want to reassure everyone that there is a very strict, limited, and narrow; instance when we would make those kinds of decisions and it's based on whether or not the individual has a series of violent criminal history of convictions," said Sheriff Paul Miyamoto.

East Bay nonprofits are collecting funds to launch a hotline to streamline information for undocumented immigrants in case of raids.

"We are in conversation with our sheriff and with other elected officials about how we can best streamline communication and verification so that we can service the public awareness trusted source for the verification - so there is not that constant fear in the community of rumors and misinformation," said Monique Berlanga, executive director of Centro Legal de la Raza.

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