Non-criminal ICE arrests have soared in California
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of people without criminal charges surged last month in California, driven by the Trump administration tripling ICE's arrest quota, newly obtained data shows.
Why it matters: The spike is fueling fear in immigrant communities and testing how local police interact with federal agents, who are often in masks or plainclothes.
By the numbers: In California, people without criminal charges or convictions made up an average of 60% of daily ICE arrests in June, up from about 38% in May and 22% in April.
- That's according to agency data obtained by the UC Berkeley School of Law's Deportation Data Project via Freedom of Information Act requests, and based on seven-day trailing averages.
- The upward trend was also reflected in arrests in the ICE San Francisco field office region, which covers Northern California, Hawai'i, Guam and Saipan.
- Meanwhile, the total number of people arrested by ICE in California, regardless of criminal charges, similarly increased from less than 1,000 in April to roughly 1,450 in May and over 3,300 in June.
The big picture: In late May, the Trump administration told ICE to arrest at least 3,000 people daily, up from 1,000, despite previously claiming to focus on criminals who live in the country illegally.
Context: Being in the U.S. without legal authorization is a civil — not criminal — violation.
Many people "who have been community pillars" in SF have expressed fear of even going outside to the grocery store, District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder told Axios.
State of play: San Francisco is not adequately prepared to respond to the increase in ICE activity, said Fielder, who represents the Mission and its large Latino population.
- The city needs clearer protocols, she noted, pointing to the Los Angeles Police Department's recently enacted policy requiring officers to verify ICE agents' credentials on body-worn cameras.
- "At the local level, we are the last line of defense against authoritarianism, and I think SFPD and the sheriffs should consider the same directive," she added.
Zoom in: City law prevents SFPD from assisting ICE in federal immigration law enforcement unless required by federal or state law, but Deputy Police Chief Derrick Lew's comments after a violent clash with protesters raised concern among immigration advocates.
- While Lew emphasized that they don't want the community to get hurt, he also said "we can't just sit by and watch our fellow law enforcement agent or officer get hurt," Mission Local reports.
- District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen introduced a nonbinding resolution the following week, asking SFPD and the sheriff's department to create guidelines for how to respond to calls for service related to suspected ICE arrests.
- The mayor's office directed inquiries to SFPD, which did not immediately return requests for comment.
What we're watching: California lawmakers are weighing legislation to limit how ICE agents operate and clarify local police response.