The White House on Thursday called Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s warning of an imminent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid last week “outrageous” and confirmed that the Department of Justice is reviewing whether she broke the law.
Late Thursday, ICE announced dozens more arrests in its four-day Northern and Central California operation that the agency said ended Wednesday. Federal officials have been critical of the Oakland mayor and her actions.
“I think it’s outrageous that a mayor would circumvent federal authorities and certainly put them in danger by making a move such as that,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters in a briefing. “And that’s currently under review by the Department of Justice, and I don’t have anything else to add.”
Her comments begin at the 11:40-minute mark of Thursday’s briefing:
The comments mark the first by the White House about Schaaf’s public announcement Saturday that ICE raids were planned, but ICE director Thomas Homan said on a FOX News show Wednesday that Schaaf’s actions would be under review and called her warning an “irresponsible decision.”
“Sanctuary jurisdictions like San Francisco and Oakland shield dangerous criminal aliens from federal law enforcement at the expense of public safety,” Homan said. “Because these jurisdictions prevent ICE from arresting criminal aliens in the secure confines of a jail, they also force ICE officers to make more arrests out in the community, which poses increased risks for law enforcement and the public.”
A spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of California declined to comment on the DOJ probe Thursday.
Schaaf spokesman Justin Berton said: “The Mayor’s office is not aware of a review.”
Late Thursday, an ICE spokesman said the four-day operation — that ranged from Bakersfield to the Oregon border and ended Wednesday — led to the arrest of 232 individuals for violating immigration laws. That number jumped from Tuesday when ICE said they had arrested more than 150 people.
Of those arrested, 180 were either convicted criminals, had been issued a final order of removal and failed to leave or had been previously removed from the United States and returned illegally, said spokesman James Schwab.
Schwab highlighted an arrest in San Leandro of a Mexican citizen who had criminal convictions of involuntary manslaughter and domestic violence. An El Salvador citizen was arrested in Vallejo, Schwab said, who had multiple DUI convictions.
Earlier this week, Homan said more than 800 people had eluded capture, blaming the Oakland mayor’s tip-off.
Schwab again blamed the Sanctuary City laws for endangering lives and leading to collateral arrests.
“ICE has no choice but to continue to conduct at-large arrests in local neighborhoods and at worksites, which will inevitably result in additional collateral arrests, instead of focusing on arrests at jails and prisons where transfers are safer for ICE officers and the community,” he said.
Schaaf has said her warning was her “duty and moral obligation,” and stands by her decision, even though she has since received death threats for doing so. She also said she checked with legal counsel before making the announcement last Saturday night and did not believe she was obstructing justice.
Staff writer David DeBolt contributed to this report.