6 taken from Oakland home now in ICE centers out of state
6 taken from Oakland home now in ICE centers out of state
Six people taken from an East Oakland home are now in ICE detention centers in Tacoma, Wash., and a juvenile center in New York.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Six people taken from an East Oakland home this week are now in ICE detention centers in Tacoma, Wash., and a juvenile center in New York, according to lawyers at Centro Legal de La Raza.
Six were taken to ICE centers
The six people include four adults, a 21-year-old man with Down syndrome, and a 17-year-old boy. They are from Central America, though their exact countries of origin were not made public.
The first five were taken to Tacoma, and the teen was taken across the country to an ICE detention center in New York, according to Abby Sullivan Engen, an attorney at Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland. All six are not relatives, she said; at least some are roommates and friends.
DEA initiated operation
In a brief text, Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman Akilah Johnson told KTVU that the DEA led the operation at the home, as a "result of an ongoing criminal investigation and search warrant."
She declined to elaborate, specifically about who was the target of that DEA investigation – one person in the house, or more.
Centro Legal lawyers were also made aware that the initial entry on Tuesday at a home near 79th Avenue and Hillside Street was initiated by the DEA.
What's unclear is how ICE officers became part of the equation. Did the DEA invite them to come along? How did ICE know about the legal status of the people living in the house?
ICE has not returned emails seeking clarification.
Seven detained in East Oakland ICE action, including teen and relatives
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained seven people Tuesday morning after arriving at a home in East Oakland, according to family members and an attorney representing the group.
Immigration status unknown
What's also not clear is if the federal immigration agents had warrants for everyone in the house, or what the immigration status is of the six roommates, Sullivan Engen said.
Her colleague, Nikolas de Bremaeker, tried unsuccessfully on Wednesday to convince ICE officers on Sansome Street in San Francisco to release the 17-year-old and the man with Down syndrome.
ICE had moved the teen to a hotel, then back to San Francisco, and then finally to New York, Sullivan Engen said.
"ICE was unwilling to release them," she said, "despite the fact that we have no evidence and have seen no allegation that they have any criminal records."
Moved out of state
There are no ICE detention centers in the Bay Area, and the ones in California appear to already be full, which is why the six people were taken out of state, Sullivan Engen said.
"There's no more space in ICE facilities in California because of the ramping up of arrests in recent weeks and months," she said.
Little information
Sullivan Engen said it's very hard to help the six people now in federal custody because "ICE has given us very little information. ICE's practice is to operate in the shadows."
Sullivan Engen said that even if one of the roommates was being sought by DEA, "that does not mean that ICE should be called to sweep up anybody in the vicinity, right?"
She said her office is investigating avenues to secure the release of the man with Down syndrome from ICE custody, but that any legal action would have to be filed in Washington state. She said a coalition of rapid response deportation defense attorneys is coordinating to secure legal representation for the teen, who is in New York.
As a lawyer, Sullivan Engen wanted to remind people, even those without proper documentation, of their rights. ICE agents need a proper warrant to enter someone's home.
"People are made to feel like they don't have the option of saying no," she said.
But in fact, she pointed out, unless an officer has a valid warrant signed by a judge and describing in detail what they are searching for, immigrants always have the option of saying no to a law enforcement officer when they ask to enter a home.
It's unclear when the six people will be seen before an immigration judge in either Tacoma, Wash., or New York.
But Sullivan Engen said that the judges in Tacoma are used to "fast-tracking" cases.