ICE doesn’t need permission to enforce the law.
Via Mercury News:
City officials said they were blindsided by the recent arrests of two undocumented immigrants by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and have raised questions about how two family men headed to work ended up in detention and on a path toward deportation.
The city in a statement called on ICE for answers about the arrests of Antonio Valenzuela and Jose Salgado on July 27 after first reading about the incident in this newspaper. Officials said they also plan to issue a letter to ICE this week requesting more information on the circumstances of the arrests.
“In a community like ours — which is one of the most diverse and which is very welcoming of people from all over the world — people are very concerned about this happening and they want information,” Mayor Barbara Halliday said.
Officials stressed that it’s not the fact that ICE was in their city that concerned them, but the fact that ICE did not notify the police department of the arrests of Valenzuela and Salgado. Hayward Police Chief Mark Koller said the department expects to be notified of any arrests that result from ICE operations but, “that did not occur in this instance.”
Meanwhile, ICE spokesman James Schwab said the department is generally notified of ICE operations but that the details and results aren’t always shared.
The case highlights ongoing tensions between sanctuary cities and immigration officials, who have significantly intensified their crackdown on illegal immigration. City officials formally designated Hayward a sanctuary city in June, reaffirming policies that are welcoming of immigrants, which Halliday said have been in place for many years.
Valenzuela, 34, and Salgado, 42, were leaving the neighborhood along Harris Road about 6 a.m. for work when they were trailed by ICE agents, who arrested them soon after. The men’s families said ICE was originally looking to detain another man. Meanwhile, Salgado and Valenzuela remain in ICE custody at the Adelanto Detention Facility in Southern California.
HT: Perry