Dozens of ICE detentions reported across Sacramento area this week
Advocates warned of increased Sacramento ICE activity after agents detained at least 27 people across the region during a two-week enforcement surge.
Federal agents took dozens of people into custody throughout the Sacramento region this week. Community advocates warned local families that regional enforcement operations rose sharply over the past two weeks. NorCal Resist has monitored U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations for nearly a decade.
The organization said agents detained multiple people in the Citrus Heights area on Wednesday. Program director Giselle Garcia said the group verified 27 detentions in the past 14 days. That number exceeds the 21 detentions the group normally records in an entire month.
Garcia believes the true total is much higher. Group records only count detainees whose families complete a full intake process.
“In many of these incidents, folks reported 2-5 people being taken as collateral arrests, but if we do not complete a full intake with their families we do not include them in our total tally. We estimate this number to be three times our tally of completed intakes.”
A video showed multiple people who appear to be ICE agents in a parking lot. NorCal Resist reported that agents detained a person at the Sunrise Mall on Wednesday morning.
“We have a lot of ICE activity in Sacramento County today. Please be cautious. Please leave your errands and shopping for another day. Please do not open the door to strangers.”
The group reported agent sightings in Carmichael and Fair Oaks on Wednesday. NorCal Resist also logged actions in South Sacramento, North Highlands and East Sacramento.
Additional reports emerged from other regional cities:
- Yuba City
- Marysville
- Oroville
- Stockton
A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the agency does not disclose or discuss operations. The spokesperson cited operational security and officer safety. The agency noted several recent arrests. Those actions included a Stockton arrest of a South Korean man convicted of homicide.
“Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country including in California,” the spokesperson said.
Woodland police are investigating a separate incident involving a vehicle on Tuesday morning. A pedestrian named Antonio Moreida said an enforcement agent hit him with a car. Moreida shared a GoPro video of the impact.
A DHS spokesperson denied that an agent struck the pedestrian. The spokesperson accused the man of flopping for the camera.
“An agitator jumped onto the hood of an ICE vehicle and the officer driving applied the brakes. The agitator slid off the hood.”
Garcia said Moreida did not cause the collision. She said the pedestrian merely documented the agents. She noted a massive surge in street enforcement began around Oct. 8.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement branch of the Department of Homeland Security. The agency enforces federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration. Local police departments conduct separate criminal investigations into traffic collisions and street disputes within their municipal borders.
Reports placed enforcement crews in multiple neighborhoods across Sacramento County this week. The Washington Examiner reported leaders told agents to go after anybody during Operation Safe California. That directive reportedly included individuals without criminal records.
