With fears of ICE raids increasing, Alameda County's rapid response hotline is not available 24/7

'It’s not an effective form of community defense if they can just choose to conduct a raid on a Saturday when they know we don’t have this line of defense in place.'

☕️MORNING BUZZ

—Facing an uptick in fear, disinformation, and evolving immigration enforcement tactics, immigrant rights advocates in Alameda County are calling for increased resources to support communities at risk of detention and deportation.

But one crucial frontline defense for protecting immigrants fearing impending raids—a rapid-response hotline—is not available 24/7.

A number of speakers at Wednesday’s Alameda County Board of Supervisors Public Protection Committee urged for expansion of the hotline’s hours

Currently, the rapid response hotline runs Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., but there are indications that ICE is deliberately conducting operations outside of those hours.

“It’s not an effective form of community defense if they can just choose to conduct a raid on a Saturday when they know we don’t have this line of defense in place,” said Sam Reagan, a member of the Oakland Education Association’s ICE rapid-response team.

—However, Monique Berlanga, the executive director of Centro Legal de la Raza, told the public protection committee that it’s not yet clear if a 24/7 schedule is a sustainable or best use of its limited resources.

Since launching the rapid-response program on Feb. 17, with $700,000 in county funding and $1.4 million raised through philanthropy, they have answered more than 1,100 calls and trained hundreds of volunteers to recognize and respond to ICE activity.

Instead, Berlanga advocated for the county to provide “flexible funding” to react to unpredictable immigration enforcement patterns, such as a new tactic seen last weekend involving mass text messages that instructed individuals to report to ICE, with no prior warning or context. “That is not something that we can plan for,” Berlanga said.

—411 ON THE 510—Become an East Bay Insiders subscriber today and get FULL ACCESS to the inside scoop every weekday morning at 6 a.m. It’s what the insiders read.

---

—MORE INSIDE:

• “Our clients are terrified,” an Alameda County public defender said of immigrants fearful of detention of deportation.

• Alameda County’s sheriff reiterates her office does not work with federal immigration authorities. “Our role is to protect every person in our community, regardless of status,” she said on Wednesday.

• Alameda County has lost 385 sheriff’s deputies to retirement and other agencies since 2020. The union argues greater compensation is a solution.

• A new report estimates the Trump administration’s increase crackdown on undocumented immigrants could cost the state $273 billion in revenue, a 5 percent reduction in GDP.

• Why it’s no surprise that East Bay Rep. Ro Khanna is a leading opponent of a potential U.S. military conflict in Iran.

---

—EBI PODCAST—Download and listen to the East Bay Insiders Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: