City Government

Oakland City Council Passes Kaplan’s Resolution to Cut Ties with ICE

Published

9 years ago

January 19, 2018

This week, Oakland’s City Council unanimously passed Citywide Councilmember, Rebecca Kaplan’s Resolution to clarify that Oakland’s Police Department is to not collude with ICE, including in providing traffic support for ICE raids.

Kaplan, an active supporter of Oakland’s Sanctuary City status, authored legislation last July calling for the Oakland Police Department to immediately cut ties with ICE, the full City Council unanimously passed Kaplan’s legislation.

However, in August 2017, OPD and the City Administration authorized assistance for ICE agents who were conducting a raid in West Oakland. The raid lead to the detention of someone who is not being charged with a crime, and is now facing deportation.

There has been extensive community outcry about the West Oakland raid, and the inappropriate use of OPD to assist in it.
“It is NOT acceptable for the Oakland administration to collude with ICE, as this federal agency is targeting non-criminals, harassing people based on their national origin, and undermining our justice system,” said Kaplan.

“The head of ICE under Trump has publicly stated that his intention is to strike fear into communities, and now he is targeting California and cities like Oakland,” she said.

“The actions of ICE worsen community-police relations, and make everyone less safe, by causing victims and witnesses of crime to be afraid to come forward. Oakland should not be colluding in the Trump Administration’s racist agenda, by defending the actions of ICE, the Oakland Administration is undermining the trust of our community.”

Kaplan’s Resolution to clarify that OPD is not to collude with ICE comes as federal plans are underway to conduct massive ICE sweeps in the Bay Area. Trump’s ICE Director Thomas Homan has threatened to target immigrants and elected officials of sanctuary cities.

Councilmember Kaplan and others have urged that at times where our most vulnerable neighbors and community members are at-risk of being torn from their families, and in some cases, taken from the only country they have known, the city must stand in solidarity in support of all who live in our community, and refuse to participate in Trump’s misuse of federal law enforcement for prejudiced and political purposes.

“Trump’s head of ICE issued a threat against public officials who oppose the targeting of immigrants, and also threatened the safety of the public, directing that more ICE agents enter California communities, arrest people in public spaces, and target people based on national origin rather than focusing on serious crimes,” said Kaplan.

“This behavior is entirely inappropriate for someone running a law enforcement agency, as it perpetuates racial prejudice, and weakens the community-police relations that are vital to stopping serious crime. I continue to stand opposed to such actions, and will continue to denounce, and refuse to collude in, Trump’s racist agenda.”

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Oakland Post: Week of July 15 – 21, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 15 – 21, 2026

Published

7 days ago

July 18, 2026

Oakland Post

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From Disparity Study to Solutions: Oakland Coalition and Mayor Barbara Lee Renew Commitment to Reform City Contracting

She committed to ensuring the coalition has direct access to City leadership by designating Assistant Deputy City Administrator Chuck Baker the primary liaison. Working alongside Deputy City Administrator Sofia Navarro, DWES Director Emylene Aspilla, Race and Equity Director Darlene Flynn, and other City departments, the coalition will continue advancing these priorities while maintaining regular communication with City leadership.

Published

1 week ago

July 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Present at the recent meeting on implementing recommendations on Oakland’s Disparity Study on city work contracts were (first row, l. to r.): Chuck Baker, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and Darlene Flynn. Second row, l. to r.) Samuel Adams, Erica Astrella, Chadwick Spell, Cathy Adams, Stanley Cooper, Maria Wagner, Len Turner, Derek Barnes, Paul Cobb. Photo courtesy of Oakland Mayor’s Office.

Special to The Post

On June 30, a coalition of minority business leaders, contractors and others met with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee to discuss the City’s commitment to implement recommendations outlined in Oakland’s Disparity Study and eliminate barriers that have historically prevented Black and minority-owned businesses from fully participating in public contracting opportunities.

Representatives of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (OAACC), National Association of Minority Contractors Northern California (NAMC NorCal), Construction Resource Center (CRC), and the East Bay Rental Housing Association (EBRHA) said the meeting represented an important milestone in a process that has been underway for several months.

On April 21, the Oakland City Council’s Life Enrichment Committee received a progress report from the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards (DWES), where Director Emylene Aspilla presented the coalition’s working document and outlined a collaborative implementation plan between the coalition and the City. That report established 30-, 60-, and 90-day objectives focused on five key priorities:

Reforming Local and Small Local Business Enterprise (L/SLBE) waiver practices
Strengthening prompt payment compliance
Improving procurement forecasting and transparency
Expanding contractor capacity building and business development
Increasing oversight, accountability, and public reporting

A series of working sessions was scheduled between coalition representatives, DWES, and the City Administrator’s Office to begin implementing those priorities but were temporarily delayed by the resignation of former City Administrator Jestin Johnson.

Rather than allowing that momentum to stall, OAACC President and CEO Cathy Adams requested a meeting with Lee to gain clarity on the City’s direction and reaffirm its commitment to implementing the recommendations contained within the Disparity Study.

Coalition leaders described the meeting as productive, candid, collaborative, and encouraging.

During the meeting, Lee spoke not only from her role as mayor but also from her experience as an 8(a) contractor and business owner, sharing that she understands firsthand what it takes to build and grow a successful company, employ a substantial workforce, compete for public work, and navigate the complexities of municipal contracting.

Mayor Lee also expressed her commitment to personally participate in future working meetings with the coalition.

“This meeting represents a renewed commitment to partnership,” said Adams. “Mayor Lee listened, engaged, and demonstrated that she wants to move beyond conversation and into implementation.”

CRC’s Len Turner said the roadmap is already in place. ““The City already has the evidence. What’s been missing is execution. …Now it’s time to deliver results.”

Mario Wagner, president of NAMC NorCal agreed that the next phase must focus on implementation, funding, and accountability.

“The coalition is ready to get to work. …The next step is ensuring these initiatives receive meaningful funding in the upcoming fiscal budget cycle. Just as important, the City must establish transparent reporting mechanisms that keep the public informed through regular progress reports, measurable benchmarks, and accountability.”

Coalition leaders also acknowledged that while City leadership has indicated it is reviewing Local and Small Local Business Enterprise waiver practices, the community continues to seek a formal response regarding existing long-term waivers, including waivers extending 10 and 25 years. The coalition believes those waivers should be comprehensively reviewed and, where appropriate, rolled back as part of the City’s broader contracting reforms.

The coalition is also calling on the City to include meaningful funding in the upcoming fiscal budget cycle to support implementation of the Disparity Study recommendations and establish better methods and mechanisms to keep the public informed through regular progress reports, measurable benchmarks, and transparent accountability.

The coalition’s immediate next step is to schedule a working meeting with Baker, Aspilla, Lee, and the appropriate City staff to review what has already been accomplished under the implementation framework.