In the wake of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents descending on cities across the country, many residents of Alameda have been concerned about the possibility of an ICE surge here in the Bay Area. Even though the deployment of ICE agents to Coast Guard Island [1] was called off in October 2025, organizations that showed up to the Alameda “No Kings” rally on March 28 [2] were offering ICE watch and patrol training along with legal information and “know your rights” cards.
[3]Recently, the City of Alameda announced it will be holding a bystander and training and conflict de-escalation workshop [4] on April 9th that is free and open to the public.
With residents organizing and attending workshops, the Alameda Post asked the Alameda Police Department (APD), Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) and Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft how they are prepared to handle ICE agents on the island and what they could realistically do about the presence of federal agents.
APD will not support ICE, but cannot interfere
Sarah Henry, Communications & Legislative Affairs Officer for the City of Alameda, emailed the Alameda Post the following statement on behalf of APD.
“The City of Alameda is committed to ensuring the safety and trust of all community members. In accordance with State and local laws, as well as Alameda Police Department (APD) policy, the City will not use any of its resources or staffing (including police staff) to support civil enforcement of federal immigration laws.”
According to “No Kings” rally organizer Shalom Bruhn, APD Chief of Police Nishant Joshi sent a similar statement to be read at one of last year’s rallies, pledging that APD would not support ICE. But not supporting ICE does not mean that Alameda police officers can defend Alameda residents—even if they are citizens—against ICE. The Post asked Henry about the following scenarios:
- Scenario 1: ICE is arresting someone who is calling out for help and says they are in the country legally and that ICE is kidnapping them. Could APD intervene?
- Scenario 2: Residents are peacefully filming ICE and ICE starts throwing tear gas. What will APD do?
- Scenario 3: ICE wants to set up checkpoints outside of schools. Can the City of Alameda or APD stop this from happening?
The outcome to all of these scenarios is that APD cannot intervene or interfere with ICE tactics and activity. Henry emailed the following statement to the Post:
“Under the California Values Act and AB 49 (2025), strict limits are placed on local agencies and their employees when it comes to civil immigration enforcement, and APD will strictly adhere to following all applicable laws. In addition, the City is actively advocating for legislative measures that further local law enforcement’s ability to hold ICE agents accountable. While APD will always be ready to protect public safety in Alameda, APD cannot interfere with lawful operations of other law enforcement agencies, including ICE.”
AUSD: Shelter in place and legal counsel
The Post reached out to AUSD Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi who stated via email: “If there were federal agency activity even near an actual campus, we would likely shelter in place as we would for a variety of different law enforcement scenarios should they occur in the vicinity of a school campus.”
In the event that federal agents try to gain access and entry onto a school campus, Scuderi stressed that they would need a judicial warrant signed by a judge and pointed out, “We have yet to see a scenario where any federal judge has issued such a legitimate warrant granting access to a school campus in California.”
He did warn, however, that federal agents have been known to show up with an administrative warrant, issued by a federal agency and not by a judge. According to AUSD’s legal counsel, an administrative warrant does not allow ICE agents access to a school campus. “The only means by which a federal agent could lawfully access a campus is to present a valid, judicial warrant signed by a judge.”
If ICE agents did come to a school campus, Scuderi told the Post that he or Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Kirsten Zazo would immediately go to the campus with legal counsel on the phone or in person and contact APD.
If ICE agents forced their way into a school without a judicial warrant, Scuderi said, “We certainly would not advise any of our employees to try to physically intervene but rather address the matter with secondary help like our attorneys and local law enforcement.”
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Vulnerable areas of school campuses are pick-up and drop-off areas located outside of buildings and gates, as well as outdoor areas where students congregate, such as the front courtyard of Encinal High School. ICE agents could come to those areas without a warrant.
“Someone being picked up in the front area of a school campus and/or the lengthy driveway at some schools is troubling to contemplate,” Scuderi stated, “but as with any potential law enforcement action or arrest, we would notify local authorities, get local administrators and legal involved, and do whatever we can to support the due process and individual rights of anyone being detained.”
Scuderi also noted that AUSD could not and would not share information on students with federal agencies because AUSD does not ask for, collect, or store students’ immigration or citizenship status.
City of Alameda: Sanctuary city with limitations
In 2017 the City of Alameda declared itself a sanctuary city and reaffirmed that status [5] last year. (The resolution is available to read or download online [6].) Similar to APD’s stance, the City has declared that it will not cooperate with ICE and will not allocate resources, staff, or money to help federal agents.
Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, however, told the Post that she wanted to “manage people’s expectations.” Just because Alameda is a sanctuary city does not automatically mean people are safe from being detained and deported.
Mayor Ashcraft used as an example the resolution being proposed [7] by Councilmember Tony Daysog at the upcoming April 7 City Council meeting. The resolution would ban ICE and other federal agents from using City property for their activities, but Mayor Ashcraft pointed out that there is a lot of federal land in Alameda. ICE agents would be free to use the Navy Reserve Center located at 2144 Clement Avenue, Coast Guard Island, and portions of Alameda Point.
She also talked about a hypothetical situation of ICE wanting to use city parking lots as a base of operations even if the resolution proposed by Councilmember Daysog passes. The City of Alameda would be hesitant to enforce the resolution using APD officers. Citing a similar statement made by Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez, Mayor Aschraft observed, “When you put armed officers up against armed officers, it’s a very dangerous situation.”
The mayor acknowledged the symbolic value of the resolutions, but noted that she wants Post readers to understand the reality of the situations and not feel a false sense of security and say, “Whew, now we’re safe.”
The sanctuary city resolution also states that the City of Alameda and APD will cooperate with federal agents when a crime or public safety is involved. “We aren’t going to stop someone and say, ‘Show me your papers, show us that you’re a citizen.’ We are not going to assist federal authorities with doing that,” Mayor Ashcraft clarified to the Post. But she added, “If you commit a crime, we will pursue you, that’s part of what public safety is.”
The City of Alameda is seeking ways to help residents be informed and stay safe from a possible surge of ICE agents, such as conducting bystander training and putting out information about legal help. “You always hope that they don’t come to Alameda, but we know that hope is not a strategy. So we need to be prepared for what we can do to protect people who might be at our libraries, parks, schools, and streets.”
Ultimately, Mayor Ashcraft noted, she believes the most effective tool to counter ICE is through voting. “Register to vote because that is the only way we can change the political trajectory of our country. Register to vote, vote in every election.”
Jean Chen is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post [8]. Contact her via [email protected] [9]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Jean-Chen [10].