The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is urgently calling on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors (BOS) to adopt agenda item 51 at today’s BOS meeting. The item includes two critical measures led by Supervisor Nikki Fortunato-Bas: a countywide immigration enforcement response plan and an “ICE-Free Zones” policy that would prohibit the use of Alameda County property for ICE activity.
SEE: Alameda County BOS Agenda
SEE: Background memo on the resolution
The measures come as federal immigration operations across the country have entered a dangerous new phase marked by militarized tactics, unchecked authority, and fatal violence against civilians, including U.S. citizens Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
SEE: Trump aids declared 16 DHS shootings since July justified before probes completed
In a statement, CAIR-SFBA Policy Coordinator Musa Tariq said:
“These ICE actions are not exceptions or mistakes. They are the result of a rogue agency that has been given unchecked power, more money, and more weapons. Local governments cannot pretend this violence is distant or hypothetical. It’s already here. Alameda County residents are at risk right now.
“Across the country, communities report masked and often unidentified federal agents conducting warrantless stops, raids, and detentions in immigrant neighborhoods. Families have been torn apart, children injured, and entire communities pushed into fear. In one recent incident, federal agents forcibly removed a five-year-old child from his family’s vehicle and used him to coerce entry into the family’s home.
“These are the conditions under which Alameda County is being asked to cooperate or stay silent. And silence is complicity.”
CAIR-SFBA emphasized that agenda item 51 would draw a clear and necessary line: county facilities, resources, and institutions must not be used to facilitate ICE activity that violates civil liberties or endangers lives. The proposed “ICE-Free Zones” policy would protect hospitals, courthouses, service centers, and other essential public spaces from being turned into sites of fear, detention, or deportation.
“Lives have already been lost,” Tariq added.“The question before Alameda County is not abstract or procedural. It is whether this county will act now to protect its residents or wait until federal violence reaches our doorstep.”
CAIR-SFBA urges the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to vote YES on agenda item 51 without delay and encourages community members to email their Supervisors today to support immediate passage
CAIR-SFBA is an office of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-SFBA Communications Manager Lorrie Adam, 408.498.5779, ladam@cair.com