Berkeley Reacts to Detention of Immigrants

Berkeley's status as a sanctuary for illegal immigrants was put to the test yesterday morning after four people were taken into custody by federal immigration officials in South Berkeley.

Soon after they were taken into custody, rumors began to circulate that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were planning on raiding a number of schools in Berkeley, said Mark Coplan, spokesperson for the Berkeley Unified School District.

However, Virginia Kice, a spokesperson for the agency, said those reports were "completely erroneous."

She said while agents were seeking a particular Berkeley resident, whom they did not locate, they took four other Berkeley residents into custody-one male and three females, all of Mexican origin. The male was in his early 70s, and the females were between 30 to 60 years old.

All four were released early yesterday evening and were issued notices to appear in immigration court, Kice said.

Members of community group Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action said they sought to disseminate information about the raids to notify people that residents had been taken into custody.

"Basically in Berkeley what we try to do is get everyone informed right away," said group director Andrew McComb. "(We) try to get the facts out there."

The group also worked with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco to coordinate legal representation for the four individuals.

As rumors spread that schools may be targeted by federal agents, District Superintendent Bill Huyett sent a recorded message to parents.

"I can assure you that the school district will not allow any child to be taken away from the school," states a transcript of the message. "If you are concerned about your child walking home from school, please call the school and notify staff that either you or someone else is going to pick them up."

Coplan said the district was prepared to impede federal agents from entering district property if it became necessary.

Last May, the City Council passed a resolution stating that no city employee should assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law unless by doing so they are breaking state or federal law.

Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who co-authored the resolution, said that while it did not stop the federal agents yesterday, he thought it was still useful.

"We try to make sure the (federal government) is not using our resources to do things that are contrary to the laws of Berkeley," he said.

Berkeley police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said the Berkeley Police Department was not involved in the raid this morning but was notified, according to protocol, that there would be activity by federal agents in the 1500 block of Russell Street.

Federal immigration agents make frequent Bay Area raids. From October 2007 to mid-February there were more than 800 arrests of "immigration fugitives" in Northern California, Kice said.

Tags: IMMIGRATIONS AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT