ICE director says Californians should thank him for removing 'public threats' in major raid
California officials should be thanking Immigration and Customs Enforcement for arresting around 150 undocumented immigrants in a recent raid, says Thomas Homan, the department's acting director.
Homan appeared on Fox News on Thursday to tout his agency's removal of "public threats" in the city of Oakland, following a raid that Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf (D) announced to residents in advance in an attempt to warn undocumented immigrants of possible arrests.
"I would think that the Oakland mayor and the congressional representatives in California would send me letters thanking me for removing public safety threats," Homan said, after reading a list of crimes allegedly committed by those detained in the raid.
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Homan criticized Schaaf's decision to alert residents of the February raid, saying last week that her announcement helped around 800 immigrants avoid arrest and thus made the community "a lot less safe."
The Trump administration has been at odds with California lawmakers quite a bit recently, with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) feuding over the state's "sanctuary" policies, which shield immigrants from deportation by allowing local authorities to decline to cooperate with ICE. Sessions on Wednesday criticized California officials for blocking federal law, ABC News reported.
Watch Homan's appearance on Fox News below. Summer Meza
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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
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