Alameda County Considers ICE-Free Zones Amid Trump Immigration Crackdown

Alameda County leaders are set to discuss two proposals Thursday meant to bolster the county against federal enforcement activity amid the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

The proposals outline steps that county officials can take to prepare employees, residents, nonprofit partners and properties for a possible surge in the area.

One of the resolutions, which would establish county-owned or county-operated properties as “ICE-free zones,” was inspired by similar moves in Santa Clara County and in Chicago, according to County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, the proposal’s author.

Fortunato Bas said she also hopes the county can learn from the experiences of cities like Chicago, along with Portland, Los Angeles and now Minneapolis, that have seen significant influxes of U.S Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents and other federal officers over the last year.

“We’re really trying to take those lessons and look at what’s happening on the ground with the incredible work of our community partners and do our best to ensure we’re as prepared as possible,” Fortunato Bas said.

Fortunato Bas said the county had a trial run in October, after President Donald Trump announced that federal officers were coming to the Bay Area, prompting protests outside of the Coast Guard Base in Alameda, where the Customs and Border Patrol agents were reportedly going to be stationed. The president ultimately called off the operation.

The resolution to designate ICE-free zones would involve identifying all properties that could potentially be used for immigration enforcement staging, processing or surveillance, then installing signage announcing that the property is restricted from that use.

The county would also use locked gates and other physical barriers where possible, and would create a procedure requiring county staff to report any attempts by federal officers to use the property for those purposes.

The push mirrors similar policies enacted this week in Los Angeles County and San José and comes amid heightened opposition to the presence of immigration enforcement officials in American cities, particularly after an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis.

“We’re making it very clear that our government resources are really about providing services and protection to the community, not about causing fear or havoc and what we are seeing some of these ICE operations do in other places,” Fortunato Bas said.

Fortunato Bas added that county lawyers would also be authorized to sue the federal government if officers violate the policy.

A second, more sweeping proposal also set to be discussed during Thursday’s meeting would call for the development of a coordinated county-wide response plan in the event of a large-scale federal incursion.

Under the policy, county employees would be trained in proactive measures like learning about their rights, installing signage declaring certain areas as restricted and ensuring they conduct client business in private areas.

If enforcement actions ever take place in county workplaces, employees would also be encouraged to document encounters with federal agents, including video recording where possible — and workers would be directed to report the incidents to the county’s rapid response network.

Agencies that provide crucial county services would also be directed to find alternative ways to deliver those services that minimize risk to community members.

“Around October, there was a higher level of fear about going to food distribution sites and so we were able — not only with our social services agency but also with our community partners and the food bank — to ramp up very quickly more home delivery,” Fortunato Bas said.

Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods, whose immigration unit represents residents facing removal proceedings, said his office is also preparing.

“If there is a surge, our office has been on the front lines and will continue to be on the front line of representing people who are being, in so many ways, unfairly persecuted by this administration,” Woods said.

If passed during Thursday’s meeting, the proposals would then move to the full board of supervisors, who could enact them as soon as later this month.