Immigration chief: 800 avoid arrest due to mayor’s warning

Originally published by The Washington Post

A federal immigration official says about 800 people living in Northern California were able to avoid arrest because of a warning by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf.

Thomas Homan, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief, told “Fox and Friends” Wednesday that what Schaaf did was “no better than a gang lookout yelling ‘police’ when a police cruiser comes in the neighborhood.”

Homan says the Justice Department is looking into whether Schaaf obstructed justice. He said Schaaf’s actions have made residents less safe.

The mayor warned residents Saturday night of large-scale raids by immigration agents in the San Francisco Bay Area.

ICE said on Tuesday that agents arrested more than 150 people in California after the mayor’s warning in a sweep that covered cities from Sacramento to Stockton in the Central Valley.

Read more:https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/more-than-150-arrested-in-california-immigration-raids/2018/02/27/b958aba8-1c43-11e8-98f5-ceecfa8741b6_story.html?utm_term=.d0c5b0a261c6