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Bay Area Officials Vow to Uphold Sanctuary for Immigrants Despite Threats From Trump

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Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas speaks during a press conference with leaders from community groups throughout Alameda County in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland on Jan. 22, 2025, to discuss support for immigrant families in the Bay Area after President Donald Trump promised mass deportations. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

With President Donald Trump continuing to call for mass deportations and his administration threatening recalcitrant state and local leaders with federal prosecution, officials in sanctuary cities like Oakland and San Francisco are preparing for the worst.

Only a few hours after entering the Oval Office on Monday, Trump signed several executive orders on immigration, including one that threatens to end birthright citizenship for children whose parents are living in the U.S. without permanent legal status. Meanwhile, fears of federal raids and deportations have gripped immigrant communities.

Despite pressure from the Trump administration, officials in Oakland and San Francisco said they are committed to shielding members of the immigrant community, including those without legal status.

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“Whatever Trump says or threatens, we are a sanctuary city, and we are a sanctuary state,” state Sen. Jesse Arreguín (D–Berkeley) said Wednesday in Oakland, where officials discussed new initiatives and protections for immigrant families. “We are ready to protect our immigrant families. That’s what Oakland does as a proud sanctuary city and a place of refuge for decades, and the state of California is a committed partner in this work.”

Arreguín pointed to bills being considered in a special legislative session to allocate $25 million to funding litigation against the Trump administration and another $25 million for nonprofit legal aid providers assisting Californians at risk of deportation or detention.

Sen. Jesse Arreguín speaks during a press conference with leaders from community groups throughout Alameda County in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland on Jan. 22, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

The efforts come amid reports of a Justice Department memorandum sent Tuesday directing the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces to take part in the enforcement of the president’s directives and instructing U.S. attorneys to pursue prosecutions and legal action against state and local officials who resist the beefed-up immigration protocol — a veiled threat against states such as California.

State officials passed several sanctuary laws during Trump’s first administration and frequently pushed back against the president’s anti-immigrant policies.

Joaquín Torres, the elected assessor-recorder in San Francisco, said city officials there are also prepared to defend undocumented residents against the Trump administration’s hostile policies regardless of what federal officials threaten to do.

San Francisco is working with community organizations to educate people on their rights and the protections they’re guaranteed through the city’s sanctuary laws, Torres said. He noted that San Francisco County has an emergency hotline for immigrants that is monitored 24/7.

“We have been preparing and getting information out to communities so that they can know their rights no matter what actions are taken by the federal government,” Torres said.

He continued: “We’re not going to fall prey to scare tactics. We are not going to allow fear to divide our communities.”

Monique Berlanga, Executive Director for Centro Legal de La Raza, speaks during a press conference with leaders from community groups throughout Alameda County in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland on Jan. 22, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

East Bay officials will also revive a rapid response hotline that residents can use to report Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity or to access legal assistance, they said at Wednesday’s press conference.

The hotline will be run by a coalition of community organizations headed by the legal nonprofit Centro Legal de la Raza. According to Monique Berlanga, executive director of the group, the emergency line will be active for the next three years and will cost around $4.5 million.

Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas said at the press conference that the Board of Supervisors has created a committee that specifically focuses on protecting immigrant communities in the county.

“We want to make sure that we uphold our collective vision to ensure that everyone, whether you are an immigrant, a resident, undocumented or not, that you are able to go to school safely, able to seek health care services safely and able to go about your daily routine without fear,” Bas said.

KQED’s Riley Cooke contributed to this report.

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