Bay Area community groups, school district offer guidance ahead of federal agents' arrival

OAKLAND, Calif. - As news of the impending arrival of federal agents spreads throughout the Bay Area, community groups are bracing themselves for what's to come.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated the purpose of the deployment is "targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens," but state and local elected officials have decried the move as a pretext for a future deployment of National Guard troops to San Francisco, something President Donald Trump has been threatening for some time.

As politicians have begun to push back against the deployment, community organizations such as the Oakland Unified School District, the Harvey Milk Democratic LGBTQ Democratic Club, and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area have also begun condemning the use of federal agents, as well as providing reassurances and resources to their members.

Oakland school safety

What we know:

"As you know, Oakland Unified School District is a Sanctuary district, inside Oakland, a Sanctuary city, inside California, a Sanctuary state," a release from the district states. "That means we support all students, families, and staff, no matter where they came from or how they got here. Our mission and legal obligation drives us to ensure that public schools remain safe and accessible to all California residents regardless of immigration statuses."

As a sanctuary district, OUSD has protocols in place to ensure student safety:

• Immigration enforcement personnel are barred from entering school grounds unless the agency has a signed warrant that has been reviewed by the OUSD legal team.
• Staff are prohibited from sharing any information about any student's or family's immigration status.

The district has published an ICE Protocol document for families and the community and encourages students or families concerned about encountering immigration enforcement to:

• Make sure the school has the most up-to-date contact information, including family members and trusted friends who could potentially pick a child up from school.
• Complete a family preparedness plan and complete a family preparedness plan that can be kept at home.
• Connect with immigration legal providers such as Centro Legal de la Raza, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant and the East Bay Community Law Center.

The district also warned that if ICE activity is reported in the area, families should take precautions to stay safe, and that they may receive a recorded call alerting them to the presence of federal agents.

Additionally, families who are concerned about their ability to drop off or pick up their child at school can call the main office or the after school provider to make arrangements.

Lastly, OUSD encouraged families to report suspected ICE action to the Alameda County Rapid Response Hotline at (510)-241-4011. 

Hotline responders are "prepared to verify any reports of ICE law enforcement in Oakland and answer questions about legal rights, and provide referral to legal services."

Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club

What they're saying:

The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, founded in 1976, is one of San Francisco's largest democratic clubs.

The organization on Wednesday afternoon issued a statement "rejecting and condemning... calls for federal troops, ICE, Customs and Border Protection, or any militarized force in our city."

"We call on our members and fellow San Franciscans to organize. Follow Bay Resistance. Connect with your neighbors. Distribute Red Cards. Join a rapid response network. Take a Know Your Rights training," the organization's release states. "Flood Mayor Lurie and other local, state, and federal elected officials with calls and emails demanding a clear public commitment: no National Guard, no ICE, no federal occupation, and no invocation of the Insurrection Act. San Francisco's values are not up for negotiation. We will not be intimidated, and we will not back down."

Following the ‘No Kings’ protests on Sunday, in which some 7 million people took to the streets across the country in protest of President Trump's policies, the president said in an interview with Fox News that he has "unquestioned power" to invoke the Insurrection Act. 

That law, which dates back to 1792, grants the president the authority to deploy the U.S. military domestically, against Americans, under specific conditions: to suppress rebellion, domestic violence or enforce the law in certain situations. None of those terms are defined in the text of the act.

Trump also responded to the protests by posting an AI video of him wearing a crown, piloting a fighter jet with the words "King Trump" on the side and dumping excrement on protesters.

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area

Dig deeper:

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area also issued a statement condemning the deployment of federal agents to the region, and offered a list of resources for residents to call upon if needed.

"This deployment is not about public safety, but about racial profiling. Nationwide, ICE raids have targeted people based on their race and the color of their skin," the group's statement reads. "Even U.S. citizens have not been spared. According to ProPublica, at least 170 American citizens have been held against their will by immigration agents since Trump took office, simply because they fit a racial profile. This is not enforcement; it is state-sanctioned discrimination."

The committee's statement also included reminders for immigrant residents of the Bay Area:

• You have the right to remain silent. You can and should refuse to answer questions about your birthplace, immigration status or how you entered the country.
• You have the right not to open your door to ICE unless they can show a judicial warrant signed by a judge. Do not open the door. Ask them to slide the warrant under the door. An ICE/DHS administrative warrant is not enough to force entry.
• Do not sign any document before speaking with an attorney.
• Make copies of your important documents, such as your passport and any immigration documents, and tell your trusted loved ones where you keep them. If a loved one is detained, call your local Rapid Response network immediately. Do not wait.

The group also issued reminders for community members planning to protest:

• You have the right to peacefully assemble
• You have the right to record police and ICE activities in public spaces.
• If you are stopped, you have the right to remain silent. You do not have to answer questions about your immigration status or birthplace.
• If you are arrested, ask for a lawyer immediately.

The organization says it has been paying close attention to federal raids elsewhere. 
"As we've seen in other cities throughout the country, including Los Angeles and Chicago, these mass raids rip people apart from their families, from their communities," said Nisha Kashyap of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Local advocates are reminding immigrants that legal resources are there for them. 

"We stand at the ready to stand with our immigrant community members and ensure that they have access to as much as we can provide," said Kashyap. "Please also know that if someone you know is detained as a result of the mass raids, there are rapid response networks that are prepared and standing by."

East Bay Sanctuary Covenant

Despite fears among many in local immigrant communities, advocacy groups are urging people to live their lives. 

"The message to people is that life has to continue. They should send to their kids to their school, they should go to work," said Manuel of East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, who asked us not to use his last name.

Manuel says being able to live your life also means knowing your rights. 

"We are making sure that people know that they have the right not to allow immigration to come into their homes, to search their homes or my person or my vehicle if they don't bring a court warrant signed by the judge," said Manuel. 

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