House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids conducted in Oakland and San Franciso “a shocking abuse of law enforcement power” Wednesday.
“Yet again, the White House has reached into our communities to indiscriminately detain scores of hard-working, law-abiding immigrants,” she said in a statement.
“Fully half of those swept up in the ICE raids have no criminal record,” Pelosi claimed. “This raid was intended solely to terrorize innocent immigrant families and instill fear in the hearts of our communities – not to keep Americans safe. Parents will now be torn from their children, and spouses ripped away from their loved ones.”
She referenced the fact that both Oakland and San Francisco are “sanctuary cities.”
“The Administration continues to brazenly target the cities that refuse to bow to its blatantly bigoted anti-immigrant and mass deportation agenda,” she wrote. “The people of the San Francisco Bay Area will continue to oppose these cowardly attacks, and we will remain open to the patriotic immigrants who are the constant reinvigoration of America.”
Libby Schaaf, the Democratic mayor of Oakland, warned residents that “multiple credible sources” had told her there would be ICE raids. Her remarks drew criticism from ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan.
Almost half of the arrests targeted criminal illegal aliens, including those with convictions for assault and battery, weapons charges, and crimes against children.
"The Oakland mayor’s decision to publicize her suspicions about ICE operations further increased that risk for my officers and alerted criminal aliens — making clear that this reckless decision was based on her political agenda,” Homan said in a statement Tuesday. “Unlike the politicians who attempt to undermine ICE’s critical mission, our officers will continue to fulfill their sworn duty to protect public safety.”
He added that 864 “criminal aliens and public safety threats remain at large in the community, and I have to believe that some of them were able to elude us thanks to the mayor’s irresponsible decision.”
“I’ll say this to the mayor and every other politician that wants to vilify the men and women of ICE: We’re not going away, we’re going to keep enforcing the law,” Homan said.