Immigration activity confirmed in San Jose as ICE regulation policy heads to council
ICE agents were back in San Jose Wednesday where the Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network confirms at least one person was arrested.
There were several other potential sightings throughout the city this morning, but it was other law enforcement action.
Meanwhile at City Hall, there were calls for transparency to ease fear.
San Jose leaders and community members rallied at City Hall before a City Council Rules Committee decision advocating for a new policy that would prohibit law enforcement, including ICE agents, from concealing their identity during operations in the city.
MORE: San Jose leaders push to require ICE to not conceal identity during operations in city
"Civil liberties are not privileges, they are guaranteed and they belong to every single one of us," Councilmember Pamela Campos said.
"If you look like me and you speak like me, we're in big trouble, we in big trouble," Amigos de Guadalupe Organizing Manager Misrayn Mendoza said. "Let me tell you something, we don't have money, but we got people power and we've got to organize."
The rally and crucial vote come the same day as confirmed ICE activity in the city.
Wednesday around 8 a.m., ICE agents and DHS vans were seen at the ISAP office in South San Jose - it's location where people check in for immigration-related appointments.
The Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network was on hand during the activity.
MORE: Should ICE be allowed in healthcare facilities? Rally held for detained woman at Stanford Hospital
"The Rapid Response Network observers did observe immigration enforcement," Rapid Response Network's Jeremy Barousse said. "All we know is that there's just one arrest. We don't have any and we can't share any other information on the individual, but we can't confirm there was an arrest."
This was not the only place residents reported seeing ICE on Wednesday - there were possible sightings at Francisco Avenue and near a Walmart on Monterey Road.
San Jose police and Rapid Response confirmed this was not ICE and officers in both cases were uniformed and badged - highlighting the need for transparency among law enforcement that the new policy would provide.
"When federal agents operate in the dark, when they hide behind masks, or fail to show who they are, they're not just hiding their faces," Councilmember Peter Ortiz said. "They are hiding from accountability and that is unacceptable in a democracy. This ordinance is about protecting the people of San Jose."
The policy passed through the rules committee and now it's off to the full city council for consideration and implementation.
