At least eight people detained by ICE in Alameda County since Oct. 16, five of them in Hayward, rapid response group says

Federal immigration agents have detained at least eight people in Alameda County since Oct. 16, most of them in Hayward, according to the group that runs the county's rapid response hotline, Bay City News reported Friday.

The Alameda County Immigration Legal Education Partnership, or ACILEP, counts five detentions in Hayward on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, one in Union City on Wednesday, one in Oakland on Oct. 17 and one in Emeryville on Oct. 16. The group says two of the people detained were hospitalized after what it called "the brutal use of force" by agents.

It also said at least six plainclothes agents in several vehicles, carrying visible weapons, were seen Oct. 16 near Adeline and 45th streets in Emeryville.

According to the report, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had not answered questions about the arrests. None of the detentions ACILEP listed was in the Tri-Valley.

What advocates and officials say

ACILEP co-director Angel Ibarra-Nuñez said the arrests appear targeted at specific people, but that it is unclear why so many are concentrated in south county. He described several as "collateral arrests," in which agents do not find the person they are looking for and detain others nearby.

Most arrests happen at immigration check-ins, out of public view, he said, while these took place where neighbors could see and record them. He also said several people detained in recent weeks reported being asked whether they had voted illegally.

County Supervisor Elisa Marquez said she was "horrified" by the activity and that ICE is not telling or consulting local police agencies, which makes it hard to keep residents informed. She said she worries the timing is meant in part to stoke fear ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

She urged people to stay calm and alert, and to avoid spreading rumors about suspected ICE activity that turns out to be routine work by local police.

The detentions come as the federal government presses a lawsuit that would require California to check whether more than 20,000 people on a federal list of suspected noncitizen voters are citizens before mail ballots are counted, and after the Justice Department last week announced the arrests in California of 28 green card holders it accuses of election-related crimes, six of them Bay Area residents.

Sources

pleasantonweekly.com