The Democratic mayor of Oakland, California, Barbara Lee, openly celebrated the city’s defiance of federal immigration policies in a speech during the Democratic National Committee’s meeting.
“Oakland is a community that fights for democracy every day, and it’s one I am honored to represent as I approach my first 100 days as mayor, and I just happen to be Oakland’s first black woman mayor,” she stated. “Now you all know that signs of authoritarianism cannot be ignored. So, I just want to take a minute to thank California’s Democrats, led by Governor Newsom, all right, and I want to thank Texas Democrats for standing strong. I was born in Texas, proud Californian.”
“Together we are leading the fight to protect our democracy,” Lee continued. “Donald Trump, you know, he trashed Oakland, he lied about us, but Oakland is not afraid. We embrace all residents, including our immigrant communities. Our police do not cooperate with ICE. We don’t.”
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors in Oakland voted unanimously in March to allocate $2.2 million to protect illegal immigrants.
Meanwhile, California Attorney General Rob Bonta submitted a second brief in support of those challenging ICE and CBP’s immigration enforcement activities in Southern California.
“The Trump Administration is conducting immigration stops of California residents based solely off the color of their skin, the language that they speak, or the job that they work in a brazen violation of the Fourth Amendment,” Bonta said upon submitting the filing. “These immigration raids are not about detaining violent criminals – they’re about meeting arbitrary quotas, no matter the cost. It’s not just immoral, it’s unconstitutional. I urge the court to block ICE and CBP from employing these racially-motivated, unscrupulous tactics and allow our communities to return to peace.”
