Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, at podium, Mayor Barbara Lee, at right, and other East Bay leaders at a press conference in Oakland City Hall on Oct. 23, 2025. Credit: Eli Wolfe / The Oaklandside.
Less than an hour after President Donald Trump called off an immigration enforcement surge in San Francisco, East Bay leaders held a press conference to calm residents and let them know officials are prepared if the administration still moves ahead with operations in this area.
But what exactly a federal surge in Berkeley, Oakland or other cities would look like is anyone’s guess.
Facing a packed conference room in Oakland City Hall, Mayor Barbara Lee acknowledged she has “no information we can bring to you today” about the federal administration’s plans.
“The federal administration, of course, has escalated its rhetoric and its enforcement posture in the Bay Area,” Lee said. “We know border patrol agents are being stationed on the Coast Guard Island, but let me be clear, we are fully prepared.”
Trump posted on Truth Social that he decided to call off a planned immigration enforcement campaign in San Francisco this Saturday after having a phone call last night with Mayor Daniel Lurie, who expressed concern that it would harm the city’s economic recovery.
However, Trump did not say whether Customs and Border Patrol intends to deploy agents elsewhere in the Bay Area. Sources told Cityside that deployments in the East Bay are still a possibility.
Lisa Hoffman, co-executive director of the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, said her organization — which provides legal and social services, and leads know-your-rights trainings — is preparing for the possibility that federal authorities will launch operations on this side of the bay.
The advocacy group is encouraging those who could be at risk of deportation to stay home as much as they can.
In an email alert Wednesday, it advised that schools and hospitals are “generally safe,” but specifically recommended people avoid “Home Depots, the flea market and other high-traffic community spaces.” Hoffman said the advice was based on “what we’ve heard and also what we’ve seen in other cities,” where Home Depot stores have been targeted by immigration authorities.
“For those who have more protected legal status, we need to be standing up for those who may not have as much protection in this moment and offering help,” she said, which might include making trips to grocery stores or schools for neighbors who are undocumented.
“This is the time for us to be showing up for each other,” Hoffman said.
The “confusing and inconsistent” messages about the operation has added to the anxiety that both clients and staff feel at Oasis Legal Services, a nonprofit that supports LGBTQ+ immigrants, spokesperson Mateo Sánchez said. The organization is offering to meet with clients virtually or by phone, rather than having them come into its Berkeley office, Sánchez said, and has given staff the option of working from home in the coming days and weeks. That plan did not change in light of Trump’s announcement Wednesday morning.
“ICE is still around,” Sánchez said. “We don’t know what it means for the Bay Area more widely.”
Officials encourage peaceful protests
Lee and other elected officials, union representatives, and faith leaders encouraged residents to look out for one another and to peacefully protest the administration. But officials also warned people not to “take the bait” by committing any acts of violence against federal officers.
“We know that they’re baiting Oakland, and that’s why San Francisco is suddenly off the table,” said Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson. “So I’m not going to be quiet about what we know is coming. We know that their expectation is that Oakland is going to do something to cause them to make us the example.”
Earlier this morning, hundreds of protesters gathered near a road that leads to an island in the Oakland estuary that houses Coast Guard facilities, where CBP agents were reported to be arriving. Demonstrators who attempted to block the road were forced to disperse after agents deployed two flash bangs so several CBP vehicles could get through.
Oakland and Alameda County law enforcement officers don’t cooperate with immigration authorities on civil matters. But there are limits to that non-cooperation. Dickson noted that her office can’t stand in the way of a legal warrant. Assistant Oakland Police Chief James Beere said his department has no authority to oppose or prevent federal authorities from conducting immigration operations in Oakland.
“I want to make it clear that if anyone attempts to enter your house or detain you, and they’re not in uniform or they don’t show credentials, please call 911 immediately,” Beere said.
Congresswoman Lateefah Simon said her office will protect members of the community, including children, families, officers, and protesters.
Oakland and the Bay Area will “collectively stand by our beliefs that terror and that violence inflicted by the Trump administration upon this community are unwanted, unwarranted, and illegal,” Simon said.
In her State of the City speech Wednesday night, Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii told an audience of supporters, “The moment that we’ve been preparing for as a city has arrived.”
Ishii echoed calls for people to express their opposition to the federal action peacefully.
“The feds are looking to make an example of us — they want a reason to send the National Guard here,” she said. “We want to circumvent them. When we protest, we must protest like we always do: peacefully and with intention.”
Ramped up efforts to defend against deportations
Several officials summarized efforts they’re taking to bolster the region’s defenses against federal incursions. Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas shared that the Board of Supervisors has invested millions of dollars in immigration legal defense services. The board also recently agreed to create an office focused on immigrant affairs to coordinate services throughout the county.
Lourdes Martinez, directing attorney of the immigrant rights practice at Centro Legal De La Raza, said ICE has already been operating in Alameda County. Her group, which runs a pro bono immigrant legal defense program, is anticipating an escalation, similar to what’s been seen in Washington D.C., Chicago, and Portland.
“If there has been deployment of federal law enforcement, it has really strengthened ICE and their ability to execute more detentions,” Martinez said. “So that is what we’re bracing for.”
The county also revived this year a rapid response hotline, which residents can use to call in reports of ICE activity. Martinez encouraged people to call the line instead of spreading unverified reports on other platforms. She also shared practical advice for immigrants, including that people should memorize important phone numbers and gather and keep safe documents like passports and medical records. She also recommended that people use PIN passcodes on their phones and consider disabling fingerprint or facial recognition on their cellphones.
“Just remember we are living under difficult times where ICE is allowed to racially profile,” she said.
Mike McBride, pastor of the Berkeley church The Way, advised young people to “not get caught up” engaging with federal officers, and to carry IDs and attend know-your-rights trainings.
“We will outlast this wickedness in high places, Oakland will counter hate, lies, and misinformation with love for all people,” McBride said. “Truth, justice, peace and joy. And we beg the Congress, please release the Epstein files.”
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