Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, detained two people in the East Bay late last week, including one in Oakland.

Both individuals landed in the hospital after their arrests. According to statements from ICE and ACILEP, the Alameda County Immigration Legal Education Partnership, a county program launched last year in response to the Trump Administration’s escalation of immigration enforcement, the arrests occurred on Friday, Oct. 16.

ACILEP said agents used excessive force in both arrests. The first took place that morning at San Antonio Park in East Oakland, and the other later in the afternoon in Emeryville, near 45th and Adeline streets.

In an email statement to The Oaklandside, also posted on ACILEP’s social media channels, ACILEP said the person arrested at San Antonio Park was taken to an unspecified local hospital, while the person detained in Emeryville was taken to Highland Hospital. 

ACILEP, the statement reads, “today condemned the violent manner of two ICE arrests this past weekend of Alameda County residents. In both cases, federal agents appear to have used excessive force against the people they detained, leaving them injured and in need of hospital care.”

A spokesperson at the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the Emeryville arrest to The Oaklandside, saying that ICE arrested a man from Honduras during a targeted enforcement operation there. The agency denied that ICE agents used excessive force and said his injuries predated his arrest. And DHS made no comment on the Oakland arrest.

“During the arrest, he attempted to assault officers and refused their lawful commands,” the statement said of the man ICE detained. “Officers relied on their training to control the situation.”

The spokesperson said the man, whom the agency said was undocumented, “was taken to the hospital for evaluation, and he disclosed a preexisting injury from falling from a ladder two days prior. If we have a detainee we need to take to the hospital for medical care, we have officers accompany them for their monitoring, safety of the staff, and the public. This is standard procedure.”

Many claims by ICE that immigrants have assaulted agents during arrests have later fallen apart. “ICE law enforcement officers are trained to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve dangerous situations to prioritize the safety of the public and our officers,” the DHS spokesperson said.

In response to queries about the patient, the Alameda Health System, which operates Highland Hospital, released a statement saying that “protecting patient privacy is a fundamental responsibility.”

The statement said AHS has activated an Incident Command Center to coordinate its response. 

“Security personnel are on-site monitoring developments and supporting a safe environment for all. Hospital operations and patient care continue uninterrupted,” the statement said.

“We recognize that these events may cause concern among patients, staff and community members,” said James Jackson, the health system’s chief executive officer. “We want to reassure the community that our priority remains providing care to everyone who needs it while protecting patient privacy, safety and dignity.”

“AHS is following all immigration protocols,” Jackson said.

Protests at Highland Hospital

On Sunday, Oct. 18, ACILEP shared on social media that the person detained in Emeryville remained hospitalized at Highland. That announcement prompted activists to show up at the hospital to alert community members of the agency’s presence in the neighborhood and confront both ICE agents leaving the hospital, and sheriff’s deputies who were present outside of the parking lot. 

Roberto Morales, a public information officer with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, told The Oaklandside that Highland Hospital is an assigned duty station for the sheriff’s office, which provides security for the hospital. 

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office and the Oakland Police Department are prohibited by city and county laws from cooperating with ICE agents. 

According to videos shared on social media, protesters showed up once again on Monday, Oct. 19, as early as 5 a.m. to confront ICE agents as they left the hospital’s parking lot. 

“At this time, we have no information suggesting that ICE is conducting enforcement operations at the hospitals or in the surrounding community,” ACILEP said in the statement. “Their reported presence appears to be connected to the individuals in custody.”

Earlier this month, the conservative publication the Washington Examiner broke the news that the Trump Administration would launch “Operation Safe California,” a 45-day operation across the state to arrest immigrants without legal status. Governor Gavin Newsom responded to the reports with a public statement saying, “Trump is using mass deportations to TERRORIZE diverse communities out of legally voting — ordering his secret police to ‘go after everybody.’”

The arrests over the weekend follow a spate of ICE pursuits or detentions of Oakland community members over the past year. On Aug. 12, 2025, six people were arrested at a home in East Oakland. On September 15, 2025, a man was arrested inside Oakland’s Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse. On Nov. 19, 2025, federal agents targeted a man dropping off his grandchild at school in West Oakland. On Dec. 4, 2025, Leandro Oliveira Xavier, a member of SambaFunk!, the renowned Oakland-based cultural organization, was detained at a routine immigration check-in in San Francisco. Then, on July 20 of this year, Chantal Morales Rojas was taken by ICE in the Denver airport before boarding a flight back home to Oakland. She was released a week later. 

When asked for more information about the people who were arrested on Friday, ACILEP said in the email statement that both individuals have asked for privacy.

“These incidents are part of a troubling pattern of escalating force in immigration enforcement, putting immigrant families and the broader community at risk,” ACILEP said in the statement. “To protect the privacy and safety of the individuals involved, ACILEP cannot share details about either case. Response efforts are ongoing, and we are continuing to follow up on both.”

“*” indicates required fields