Bay Area protesters: ‘No more deportations!’

March for immigrant rights in Oakland, Calif., Feb. 21.

Oakland, Calif. – Trump Tuesday’s have become days of action against the U.S. president in the Bay Area, promoted by a new coalition called Bay Resistance. On Feb. 21, people rallied and marched from the Oakland Federal Building to the office of Gregory Ahern, the Alameda County sheriff. Ahern, who is also the president of the California Sheriff’s Association, has declared his intention to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, even though Alameda County is a sanctuary county.

The event, entitled “Not My Sheriff! Not My President! No Deportations,” was organized by Alameda County in Defense of Immigrant Rights. According to the Feb. 21 East Bay Express, “The sheriff handed over information on 339 people to ICE since July 2015.”

Demands included that “Alameda County Sheriff Ahern rescind his policy to participate in mass deportations! Sheriff Ahern is not aligned with the community and the rest of Alameda County elected officials who already stand on the side of the community to reject ICE entanglement and affirm Due Process for all regardless of immigration status.

“We call on Sheriff Ahern to cease and reject any further entanglement with ICE and mass deportations. Ahern must comply with community demands to not participate in Trump’s Policing and Militarization state. His anti-immigrant and racist policies have no place in our County.

“We demand Sheriff Ahern withdraw his support and participation in the Militarization program Urban Shield, which is deeply related to ICE entanglement, SWAT raids, criminalization of Arabs and Muslims, and collaborations between law enforcement that terrorize Black, Latinx, Middle Eastern and other immigrant communities.”