Oakland City Council to consider stronger immigrant protections

Vote expected on Oakland "City of Refuge" plan to limit ICE access

A rally ahead of Tuesday's expected "City of Refuge" ordinance vote, drew Oakland's Mayor Barbara Lee, Council members Charlene Wang, Noel Gallo, and Ken Houston together with community groups and police to call for limits on ICE access to city property, an elimination of immigration status data on city forms, and other measures.

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland City Council is expected to vote Tuesday on a proposed ordinance that would strengthen protections for immigrants by limiting city cooperation with federal civil immigration enforcement.

Ahead of the vote, Mayor Barbara Lee joined City Council members Charlene Wang, Noel Gallo and Ken Houston, along with community advocates, at a rally Monday urging the council to approve the "City of Refuge" measure.

Oakland has been a sanctuary city since 2019, with policies welcoming immigrants regardless of their legal status.

"We are a community who values everyone's civil and human rights, regardless of status," Lee said. "We're not going to allow ICE to come in and terrorize our communities."

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What the ordinance would do

What we know:

If approved, the ordinance would:

Restrict the collection of immigration status on city forms.
Prohibit the use of city resources for civil immigration enforcement.
Bar Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from accessing nonpublic city facilities without a judicial warrant.
Reinforce the city's prohibition on police assisting with civil immigration enforcement.

"We have not put into our laws something as concrete as to say that OPD shall not detain anyone on the basis of a civil immigration detainer," Wang said.

Oakland police leaders said the ordinance could help strengthen trust between officers and immigrant communities.

"One of the biggest things that we support with this policy is the hope that the community understands that we are here to provide a service and that we want them to call and report any crime, especially if they're victims," Acting Deputy Chief Francisco Rojas said.

Jim Wood, an attorney and Faith in Action East Bay leader who helped draft the ordinance, said the proposal benefits the entire city.

"It protects immigrants directly, but it also protects every neighborhood in Oakland by building trust in city services, fortifying public safety," Wood said.

California AG vows to "fight back" against Trump's new immigration rule

The Trump administration announced a new immigration rule on Thursday, aimed at giving immigration officials broader authority to deny green cards to immigrants. Legal experts say the rule gives officials more power to decide whether the immigrants have received any public benefits. The policy of denying status to immigrants who are in danger of becoming a "public charge" or reliant on public services is not new, but legal experts say the new rule likely will create chaos in the immigration system and be a target for lawsuits.

Community groups cite growing fear

What they're saying:

Community organizations said there is widespread fear among immigrant groups in Oakland, and there was a 57% increase in school absences by families with English learners during the 2025-26 school year.

"We're definitely seeing an increase in fearfulness in our community," said Sheila Bharat, a therapist with the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants. "There's a lot of hopelessness and a lot of re-traumatization. Folks are remembering what it was like when they first fled their countries of origin and felt persecuted."

Bharat said many clients are experiencing symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"They're not wanting to take their children to school and just go out shopping in general, so it's become a really challenging time for our community," said Alba Hernandez, a member of Faith in Action.

Opposition to sanctuary policies

The Trump administration and many Republican leaders have long attacked sanctuary cities, saying they are too lenient on criminals.

Before his death, Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced the "End Sanctuary Cities Act," legislation that would impose criminal penalties on state and local officials who fail to comply with Department of Homeland Security immigration detainer requests.

Despite that, Oakland advocates said they plan to fight back.

"This is not the ending of this; it's only the beginning," said Christopher Martinez, executive director of the Spanish Speaking Citizens' Foundation. "We do want the city to take further steps to really strengthen the safety net."