In a recent operation conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), six individuals were detained in an East Oakland home. According to details from The Oaklandside, the raid occurred yesterday, near 79th Avenue and Hillside Street. The detainees included a minor and an individual with a severe disability. Nikolas De Bremaeker, an attorney with Centro Legal and part of the Alameda County Rapid Response Network, offered legal support following the incident.
De Bremaeker met with the detainees and expressed concern over the legality of detaining a child under such circumstances. "I pressed with ICE the illegality of detention of a child under these circumstances, and they will either release or move to a child detention center tonight," De Bremaeker told The Oaklandside. An ICE spokesperson had not responded to requests for comment at publication. This incident marks the first confirmed ICE sighting in Oakland reported through a rapid response hotline established by ACILEP in response to increased immigration enforcement.
The detainees, who hailed from multiple Central American countries, were taken to the ICE field office in San Francisco. Among those arrested were siblings, and it was not immediately known if any individuals had criminal histories. The enforcement action raised alarms due to the involvement of a minor and was seen as a continuation of what critics call the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policies. The local response highlighted the sense of urgency from community organizations to provide legal aid and verify reported ICE activity, as mentioned by Angel Ibarra, a program manager at Centro Legal, per The Oaklandside.
In light of these arrests, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee reiterated the city's commitment to being a sanctuary city and urged witnesses of ICE activity or those in need of legal assistance to contact the Alameda County hotline. "Trump’s dangerous immigration policies are designed to terrorize families and divide communities, not enhance public safety. When families live in fear, our entire community is less safe. Oakland remains a sanctuary city that protects our immigrant neighbors and keeps our communities whole," she said, as quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle. Meanwhile, De Bremaeker reminded residents to exercise their constitutional rights under the 4th and 5th Amendments and avoid opening doors to ICE without a judge-signed warrant.
