The Trump administration's plans to ramp up deportations weighed heavily on the minds of activists who marched through downtown Oakland Tuesday to decry the president's immigration crackdown.
Many said they were disheartened by Department of Homeland Security memos released Tuesday that detailed plans to hire 10,000 new immigration agents with orders to arrest any undocumented immigrants they encounter.
Lilly Miriam Vranova said she marched against deportations "for same reasons I marched in the Czech Rep.: humanity & justice." @nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/7ZcGFlYWkq
— Raquel Maria Dillon (@RaquelMDillon) February 21, 2017
Local immigration advocates and Alameda County United in Defense of Immigrant Rights also called on the Alameda County Sheriff not to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern said his office is not in the deportation business and its policy makes that clear. Ahern said ICE has not walked through his office's doors a single time this year.
"Our policy does include one line that indicates we can notify ICE if a person is released or going to be released," Ahern said. "But that's in extreme cases if somebody wanted for murder, or rape, or robbery."
But activists accuse the sheriff of sharing information with ICE. The East Bay Express reported that public records show that the sheriff's office notified ICE of the release dates of hundreds of people who were detained, but many served time for misdemeanors.
