ICE agents were spotted in West Oakland this morning by volunteer monitors and Oakland Unified School District staff, according to reports.
At 12:35 p.m. the OUSD sent an email alert to parents confirming that ICE agents were “seen near the intersection of 31st Street and Market Street,” two blocks away from Hoover Elementary.
“Your child is safe,” the email said.
According to OUSD officials, Hoover Elementary went into a “secure school protocol” because of the ICE enforcement activity nearby. Another school, Harriet Tubman CDC, “was on secure school protocol before regular dismissal for the day,” the district’s email said.
“Our other schools are following standard protocol for potential ICE activity in the community,” OUSD explained.
Neither OUSD nor Hoover Elementary officials responded to questions from The Oaklandside.
The Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership confirmed ICE was in the neighborhood around 8:40 a.m. The group said in a social media post it was “likely related to a targeted enforcement,” meaning the agents were searching for a specific person and not stopping individuals randomly. “At this time, we are not aware of any related ICE arrests in Oakland,” they wrote.
Councilmember Carroll Fife, who represents West Oakland, said in a social media post that the ICE agents may have been targeting a person who was dropping their child off as school, causing a collision.
“They were chased by masked men in an SUV that caused this collision,” Fife said.
The Oakland Police Department said in a press release they were not notified about the ICE operation. “Preliminary findings indicate that an outside law enforcement agency was conducting an investigation within the City of Oakland,” OPD said. “During their operation, officers attempted to contact the vehicle involved in their case. That vehicle later collided with an uninvolved vehicle.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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