ICE Sightings, Activity Confirmed In Some NorCal Cities: What To Know

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Reports of apparent immigration enforcement activity in the Bay Area this week have placed communities on edge as the new Trump administration calls for mass deportations.

To date, no raids or mass sweeps of the scale President Donald Trump has threatened have been reported in California, despite widely circulated media reports that recently stated otherwise. But officials and a string of volunteer, attorney-led networks called Rapid Response Networks have confirmed recent ICE sightings and deportation activities in the state.

Last week, a San Francisco middle school student's claim that they were confronted by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent prompted San Francisco Unified School District leaders to issue a warning to nearby schools via email. However, ICE has since denied that encounter.

READ MORE: ICE Denies Asking Student On SF Bus For ID: Report

On Tuesday, San Francisco immigrant rights activists and elected officials rallied in front of City Hall in support of the city's sanctuary policies following reports that ICE activity had been spotted downtown.

Lurie, Police Chief Bill Scott, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, City Attorney David Chiu and Public Defender Mano Raju were just a few of the many local officials who spoke during the event to establish their commitment to abiding by the city's sanctuary policy.

"I want to make some things very clear," Scott said. "First of all, the San Francisco Police Department does not assist in immigration raids ... Targeting immigrants who have built families, businesses, and homes here does not improve public safety, it does the exact opposite. It makes people fearful to report crimes, obtain needed healthcare or use other city services. It makes children afraid to go to school."

Olga Miranda, president of SEIU Local 87, which represents thousands of janitors in the city, confirmed that ICE officials visited two downtown buildings on Friday, prompting hundreds of union members to stay home that evening, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The agents reportedly showed up in plain clothes and were initially turned away before they showed badges to building security, the newspaper reported. The agents said they were there with an arrest warrant for one specific person. None of the union members were arrested, Miranda told the crowd at City Hall.

RELATED: Reports Of ICE Sweeps Across Los Angeles Unfounded

On Thursday, ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers in Sacramento did arrest an immigrant man from Guatemala who was convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, officials said.

Meanwhile, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan confirmed that immigration enforcement operations took place in his city on Monday.

“I sincerely hope that ICE remains focused on enforcement actions related to violent and serious criminals harming our city, not neighbors who are contributing and law-abiding members of our community,” Mahan said, according to the Chronicle.

An ICE spokesman in Los Angeles confirmed to Patch on Monday that the agency does not conduct raids or sweeps and instead follows intelligence-driven leads for targeted arrests.

Still, swaths of the state are anxiously waiting to find out just if the Trump Administration will implement its vows to remove not only violent criminals who are undocumented but also any migrant residing in the country illegally.

During his first week in office, Trump signed 10 executive orders on immigration. Some actions were felt immediately, while others are facing legal challenges.

In California, tensions climbed to new heights after the Department of Homeland Security reversed a 2011 policy that prohibited immigration authorities from detaining people near locations like schools, childcare centers, playgrounds, hospitals and churches.

State and local education leaders in California rebuked the move and have issued guidance to immigrant students and families about their rights.

READ MORE: If ICE Comes To School: CA Issues Guidance For Teachers, Staff

However, experts say much of what Trump can do will boil down to money. Congress is expected to consider additional support soon. Trump may use emergency powers to tap the Defense Department, as he did for a border wall that went largely unbuilt in his first term.

And although no mass immigration sweeps have been reported in the Golden State, deportations nationwide have ramped up in recent days.

ICE said it made an average of 710 immigration arrests daily from Thursday through Monday, up from a daily average of 311 in a 12-month period through September under President Joe Biden.

If that rate holds, it would surpass ICE's previous high mark set in the Obama administration, when daily arrests averaged 636 in 2013.

ICE averaged 376 arrests a day in the government's four fiscal years which align most closely with the first Trump administration, from 2017 to 2020.

Numbers spiked starting Sunday and included highly publicized operations in Atlanta, Dallas and, most prominently, Chicago.

But ICE hasn't said how many people it has deported since Trump reentered office. The agency has not responded to several requests from Patch for comment.

Trump has expanded arrest priorities to anyone in the country illegally, not just people with criminal convictions, public safety or national security threats and migrants stopped at the border. Still, some said it was business as usual for ICE — at least so far.

Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies says, "There's nothing unique about it."

Patch Editor Paige Austin, The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.