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San Francisco Chronicle
22 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
ICE arrests 6 people in Oakland home, including a minor, attorney says
Federal immigration officers raided an East Oakland home on Tuesday and detained at least six people, including a minor and a person with a severe disability, according to an immigration attorney. ICE officers made the arrests at a home near 79th Avenue and Hillside Street on Tuesday morning after a person inside slightly opened the door, said Nikolas De Bremaeker, an attorney at Centro Legal de la Raza and the Alameda County Rapid Response Network. Six people, including a 17-year-old, from multiple Central American countries were arrested and taken to the ICE field office in San Francisco. Some of them were siblings, De Bremaeker said. It was not immediately known if the detainees had any criminal histories, he said. De Bremaeker condemned ICE officials for detaining the 17-year-old at its field office because he said it does not meet the criterion of the Flores Settlement Agreement, which established decades-long standards for detaining children in safe and sanitary facilities. 'The ICE field office is definitely not an appropriate location for a child to be,' De Bremaeker said. The child remained at the field office on Wednesday morning despite De Bremaeker alerting ICE officials of the Flores Settlement Agreement's standards and being told that the child would be transferred to another location, De Bremaeker said. The arrests on Tuesday do not appear to be the first confirmed ICE activity in Oakland. In June, Oakland police confirmed to the Chronicle that ICE alerted them of its activity but ICE did not provide additional details. Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee on Wednesday encouraged people who witness ICE activity or need legal assistance to contact Alameda County's hotline at 510-241-4011. 'Trump's dangerous immigration policies are designed to terrorize families and divide communities, not enhance public safety. When families live in fear, our entire community is less safe. Oakland remains a sanctuary city that protects our immigrant neighbors and keeps our communities whole,' she said in a statement.
Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
ICE Detains Woman in US for 17 Years Since Age 7 After Traffic Stop
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Giovanna Hernandez-Martinez, a 24-year-old Leeds, Alabama, resident and community advocate, was taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after a traffic stop by local police on the highway. ICE records reviewed by Newsweek show that she is being held at the Richwood Correctional Center in Richwood, Louisiana. Why it Matters Hernandez-Martinez has been described by friends and family as a counselor and organizer who worked with immigrant youth. She arrived in the United States at age 7 and was raised in Alabama, ultimately graduating as valedictorian of her high school class and later earning both her bachelor's and master's degrees in social work. She has her own LLC and also works at Birmingham-based ¡HICA!, a nonprofit that advocates for immigrant families, according to her brother, Dilan Hernandez, who spoke to The Trump administration continues to strongly enforce its immigration-based agenda, which it has touted due to large-scale decreases in illegal migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border since President Donald Trump came into office. The administration has faced pushback from portions of Americans who have questioned the tactics and end goals of such policies, including detaining and in some instances deporting non-violent and non-criminal immigrants. Giovanna Hernandez-Martinez, a 24-year-old Leeds, Alabama, resident and community advocate, was taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after a traffic stop by local police on the highway. Giovanna Hernandez-Martinez, a 24-year-old Leeds, Alabama, resident and community advocate, was taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after a traffic stop by local police on the highway. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images/ What To Know Leeds Police, in an August 8 Facebook post that includes dash cam footage, said that an officer in an unmarked vehicle observed a "young lady, who only possessed a Mexico-Issued Identification," who "was traveling at least up to 91 mph as recorded on the dash in and out of traffic and following too close." "Also, the windows are darkly tinted on the Honda that she was driving," the post says. "We have a duty to protect the public and must stop individuals who are recklessly driving on our streets and highways. We would not have stopped her or had any idea of our immigration status if she would have been operating her vehicle safely." Leeds Police Chief Paul Irwin issued a statement last Thursday claiming Hernandez-Martinez's vehicle "came within feet of striking other vehicles and erratically changed lanes." Authorities said Hernandez-Martinez produced a Mexican identification card when asked for a driver's license, prompting federal immigration agents to arrive at the scene and take her into custody. Newsweek reached out Irwin and the department via email for comment. Irwin's recounting of events has been disputed by Hernandez-Martinez's family members, as well as Facebook users who commented on the police department's post and attached dash cam footage. "On the dash cam it was obvious that wasn't the case at all," her brother, Dilan Hernandez, told "My sister was speeding a little bit, but we feel that, under the circumstances, it wasn't fair at all." Facebook user Emily Barfield commented the following under the video: "This is exactly the video I was expecting. Where's the erratic driving? Where did she almost hit multiple vehicles? I see her switching lanes, with a blinker, to get over when you're pulling her over. Yes, oh so erratic." Newsweek reached out to Dilan via a GoFundMe contact form. Petitions And Fundraisers A petition "demanding the Release of Giovanna Hernandez" was started one week ago. As of Wednesday afternoon, it received more than 17,000 signatures. "Gio has no criminal record," the petition reads. "She has spent years working toward lawful permanent residency but, like many others, has faced systemic barriers and even been scammed during the process. Her detainment is not only legally questionable—it is morally wrong. "This is personal for us. Giovanna is not just a name. She is our friend, colleague, mentor, and inspiration. She represents everything we want in a citizen: integrity, compassion, hard work, and a deep love for her community. Deporting her would be a grave injustice not just to her, but to all of us who believe in fairness, opportunity, and human dignity." A GoFundMe was started six days ago by Dilan Hernandez, raising nearly $33,500 as of Wednesday afternoon. A post in a "Class of 2017" Facebook group includes former high school colleagues of hers coming to her defense. Shelby Luna, who said in the post she graduated one year before Hernandez-Martinez, said she graduated twice from Jacksonville State University—"both times with an exceptional GPA." She also served as a campus ambassador, resident assistant, and active participant in Delight Ministries, El Latido, and many other campus organizations and events. What People Are Saying Gina Martinez, the mother of Giovanna Hernandez Martinez, on Sunday to and aided by a translator: "I worry, if the judge does not set the bond hearing and up until the court date, and, obviously, she does get sent back to Mexico. All of our family is here, all of her siblings, she has built her education here, she has all of her friends here." Dilan Hernandez on his sister's GoFundMe page: "Not only is she an impeccable woman with a strong moral character, but she is also a distinguished professional. ... She takes pride in advocating for her community, and those without a voice. Now, its our turn to use our voices to fight for her and defend her." Carlos E. Alemán, CEO of ¡HICA!, in an August 7 statement calling for Hernandez-Martinez's release: "Giovanna is not only a trusted community partner, she is a role model. She brings purpose and heart to everything she does. Her contributions have touched families and young people throughout Alabama, and her detention is a painful loss for the entire community." What Happens Next Hernandez-Martinez is scheduled to appear in court on August 20, when her legal team and family are expected to seek bond. ICE custody and detention decisions and the court process will determine whether she remains detained or is released pending proceedings.
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Schools to open with unprecedented protections for children and their parents amid ICE raids
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles public schools are opening Thursday for the new academic year confronting an intense and historically unique moment: They will be operating in opposition to the federal government's immigration raids and have set in motion aggressive moves to protect children and their immigrant parents. School police and officers from several municipal forces will patrol near some 100 schools, setting up "safe zones" in heavily Latino neighborhoods, with a special concentration at high schools where older Latino students are walking to campus. Bus routes are being changed to better serve areas with immigrant families so children can get to school with less exposure to immigration agents. Community volunteers will join district staff and contractors to serve as scouts - alerting campuses of nearby enforcement actions so schools can be locked down as warranted and parents and others in the school community can be quickly notified via email and text. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass spoke about "how profound this moment is in U.S. history" during a Monday news conference with local officials. "Here you have an entire array of elected officials, appointed officials, education leaders, people committed to our children, and we are gathered here today to talk about protecting our children from the federal government," Bass said. L.A. schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho said recently that the nation's second-largest school system will oppose "any entity, at any level, that seeks to interfere with the educational process of our children. We are standing on the right side of the Constitution, and years from now, I guarantee you, we will have stood on the right side of history. We know that." High school boy mistakenly handcuffed The worries among school officials and parents are not without cause. On Monday federal agents reportedly drew their guns on a 15-year-old boy and handcuffed him outside Arleta High School. The confrontation ended with de-escalation. Family members persuaded federal agents that the boy - who is disabled - was not the person they were looking for, Carvalho said. The situation was largely resolved by the time the school principal realized what was going on and rushed out to assist. School police also arrived and scooped up unspent bullets dropped on the ground by the agents, Carvalho said. A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday that Arleta High was not being targeted. Instead agents were conducting "a targeted operation" on a "criminal illegal alien," they described as "a Salvadoran national and suspected MS-13 pledge with prior criminal convictions in the broader vicinity of Arleta." At a Tuesday White House briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, responded to a question that referenced the L.A. Times reporting about the incident. "I'll have to look into the veracity of that report," Leavitt said. "I read the L.A. Times almost every single day, and they are notorious for misleading the public... This administration wants to ensure that all school children across the country, in every city, from Los Angeles to D.C., can go to school safely." School communities in fear The incident outside Arleta High is among the ongoing confrontations across the region that have provoked public protests and prompted the Trump administration in June to deploy troops to Los Angeles. Enforcement actions have included masked agents arresting people at parking lots, in parks, on sidewalks and next to bus stops. Litigation, including a temporary restraining order, appears to have slowed down local immigration raids, but federal officials have strongly affirmed that they have not stopped. Trump administration policy is that no location - including a school - is off limits for enforcement actions in his drive to deport at least 1 million immigrants a year. "People in our country illegally can self-deport the easy way, or they can get deported the hard way. And that's not pleasant," Donald Trump said in a video posted to a White House social account. "A big part of it is to create the sense of fear so people will self-deport," said Jimmy Gomez, a Trump critic and Democratic member of Congress representing Los Angeles. The ripple effect is that school communities are experiencing fear and trauma, worried that agents will descend on or near campuses. Most in the state's public school systems, including in L.A. Unified have embraced a counter mission, protecting the right of children - regardless of immigration status - to a public education. That right to an education is, so far, protected by past U.S. Supreme Court rulings. For most school officials up and down the state, a necessary corollary to that right is safeguarding students' guardians and close relatives. On Tuesday, 30 school board members from L.A. County - which has 80 school districts - convened in Hawthorne to emphasize their own focus on protecting immigrant families. "We're about to welcome students back to schools, but we're very concerned that these fears and anxieties may potentially have an impact for students not wanting to come back," said Lynwood Unified school board member Alma Castro, an organizer of the event. She called her district a "safe haven." Among other measures, her district has trained staff to "restrict the sharing of any student files, any student information, and there's been some work with thinking about our facilities to ensure that we have campuses that are closed off, that people can't just walk in." Protecting immigrant families L.A. Unified, with about 400,000 students, has been layering on protections for months, recently working to incorporate ideas advocated by the teachers union and immigrant-rights groups. A major ongoing effort is building safe-passage networks one, two and three blocks out from a campus. Participants include paid outside groups, district employees and volunteer activists. School police - though diminished in numbers due to staffing cuts - are to patrol sensitive areas and are on call to move quickly to where situations arise. Some anti-police activists want the protective mission accomplished without any role for school police. A safe-passage presence has expanded from 40 schools last year to at least 100 this year, among about 1,000 campuses total, Carvalho said. "It is virtually impossible, considering the size of our community, to ensure that we have one caring, compassionate individual in every street corner in every street," Carvalho said. "But we are deploying resources at a level never before seen in our district." Other various efforts include: •Starting a task force to coordinate safe passage zones with local cities •Setting up a donor-supported compassion fund to help families with legal and other costs •Coordinating food aid for families in hiding •Providing legal referrals •Contacting more than 10,000 families to encourage them to send children to schools •Providing information about online schooling options •Distributing a "family preparedness" guide Carvalho and leaders of other school districts reiterated that K-12 campuses and anything related to schooling, such as a school bus or a graduation ceremony, will be off limits to immigration agents unless they have a valid judicial warrant for a specific individual - which has been rare. "We do not know what the enrollment will be like," Carvalho said. "We know many parents may have already left our community. They may have self-deported... We hope that through our communication efforts, our awareness efforts, information and the direct counseling with students and parents, that we'll be able to provide stable attendance for kids in our community." Reason to be afraid Mary, a Los Angeles mother of three without legal status, was terrified, but more or less knew what to do when immigration agents came to her door twice in May for a "wellness check" on her children: She did not let them in to her home. She did not step outside. And, eventually, the agents - at least eight of them who arrived with at least three vehicles - left. Mary had learned about what to do in this situation from her Los Angeles public school. Mary, who requested that her full name not be used, has three children, one of whom attends an Alliance College-Ready charter school, a network of 26 privately operated public schools. Like L.A. Unified, Alliance has trained staff on the legal rights of immigrants and also trained parents about how to handle encounters with immigration agents and where to go for help. Alliance largely serves low-income, Latino communities and the immigration raids affected attendance in the school last year. Normally, attendance runs about 90% at the end of their school year. This June, average daily attendance at 14 Alliance high schools had dipped below 80%. Six fell below 70% and one dropped as low as 57.5%. Alliance also attempted to gather deportation data. Nine families responded in a school network that enrolls about 13,000. In two cases, students were deported; three other students had family members deported; one student and a sibling were in a family that self-deported; one student was detained; two families reported facing deportation proceedings. While these numbers are small, the reports are more than enough to heighten fear within the community. And some families may have declined to be candid about their circumstances. "What's happening now is that no one is safe anywhere, not even in your home, at work, outside, taking a stroll," L.A. school board member Rocio Rivas said in an interview. Still, Rivas is encouraging families to send children to school, which she considers safer than other places. Alliance is focusing heavily on mental-health support and also arranging carpools to and from school - in which the driver is a U.S. citizen, said Omar Reyes, a superintendent of instruction at the Alliance charter group. Carvalho, a onetime undocumented immigrant himself, said that students deserve a traditional and joyous first day followed by a school year without trauma. Children, he said, "inherently deserve dignity, humanity, love, empathy, compassion and great education. --------- -Times staff writer Andrea Castillo contributed to this report. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. 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