Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s announcement that ICE agents would soon be arresting illegal aliens in her city was not met with total approval, as she may have hoped. The Los Angeles Times’ Tuesday edition front-paged the headline “Oakland mayor is chided for ICE warning” — the open-borders rag seemed torn about the blatant call for supporting the lawless and noted, “Schaaf faced a sea of angry calls over her message.”
Although Oakland is often thought of as a black city, 25 percent of residents are hispanic according to the 2010 Census, putting them within three points of black Oaklanders at 28 percent. So Schaaf may be pandering to one part of her diverse base but not another: black Americans do not favor the mass immigration as recent polling has indicated. The mayor may have done herself some damage in that quarter.
From a public safety viewpoint, Schaaf stepped in it big time. Her top priority is supposed to be keeping Oakland safe, but she is clearly interested in the well being of only one group — the illegal aliens. The real danger of unlawful foreigner crime was discussed on Monday by Don Rosenberg whose son was killed by an illegal alien:
Below, Don Rosenberg holds a photo of his late son Drew, who was killed by an illegal alien.
Here’s the LA Times article:
Oakland mayor faces backlash after notifying residents of possible immigration enforcement, Los Angeles Times, February 26, 2018
On Saturday night, residents of Oakland received an urgent message from Mayor Libby Schaaf.
Schaaf said she had heard from multiple sources that immigration agents would be conducting enforcement operations “starting as soon as within the next 24 hours” and urged those here illegally to take precautions.
The message stunned many. On Monday, some of that surprise turned to confusion and anger as large-scale immigration sweeps did not materialize.
Schaaf’s action has sparked debate about what role politicians and city governments should play in spreading information — both confirmed and unconfirmed — about possible federal immigration sweeps.
Like many California cities, Oakland has declared itself a sanctuary for those here illegally, and officials there have vowed to fight President Trump’s promised immigration crackdown. Tensions have heightened in recent weeks as administration officials have talked about targeting California for increased immigration enforcement. Trump last week also said he was thinking of withdrawing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from the state, predicting it could cause a wave of crime.
While Schaaf said she was trying to help those who might be arrested, some advocates said it had a different impact.
“The main reaction that people have had has been fear, unfortunately,” said Eleni Wolfe, immigration program director at Centro Legal de la Raza, an Oakland-based advocacy group. “It’s terrifying to hear about the potential of increased enforcement action, and unfortunately that’s the main message that they heard.”
Across California, leaders said they find themselves in a difficult position as they fight federal law enforcement actions. Typically, they said, local and federal officials work in concert. But on immigration, they are at odds.
“Broad pronouncements about raids in a city and across a region generate an enormous amount of fear and…generally don’t help families understand exactly what they need to do to protect themselves and their loves ones,” San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said.
On the other hand, the former prosecutor said, providing specific information about how, when and where ICE might be engaged could lead to charges of obstruction of justice.
[ . . . ]
Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which advocates for stricter immigration enforcement, echoed that statement, saying it was the policies of sanctuary cities that are “creating the need for ICE to go into these communities.”
Schaaf’s statement, he said, was “a deliberate move to create a sense of hysteria,” he said.
(Continues)
