ICE conducts ‘Knock and Talk’ in Fremont, raising concerns among community leaders

FREMONT, Calif. (KGO) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, or ICE, showed up in Fremont early Saturday morning.

It happened in the Sundale neighborhood, home to a very diverse community. Some community activists are concerned that certain ethnic groups may have been targeted.

“To me, that is nothing sort of racial profiling. And to me, it is so disheartening to see these ICE agents terrorize our community,” says Harris Mojadedi, a long-time Afghan community organizer, who grew up in Sundale.

Mojadedi says the area is home to many Afghan refugees. They came here legally. But earlier this year, many were threatened that their humanitarian parolee visas would be revoked.

“And we see that when ICE comes into communities and conducts raids like this, the aftermath is that kids don’t go to school. That people don’t seek health care,” explains Mojadedi.

He adds that many Afghan refugees are currently SNAP recipients. So they are doubly impacted, by the federal government shutdown as well.

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Fremont Mayor Raj Salwan confirmed that ICE did contact Fremont police ahead of its deployment.

“We were very alarmed when we first heard about it. We were informed this is a ‘knock and talk’ program. Where it is a voluntary program, And they talk to folks and they try to see if they will come talk to them. And that is all we know,” says Mayor Salwan.

The Fremont Police Department says it got notice just before 7 a.m. on Saturday about the ICE deployment. And that ICE concluded its activity around 10 a.m.

Mayor Salwan reminds residents that Fremont is a sanctuary city.

“We follow state laws. And we make sure that we focus on crimes, and we don’t worry about people’s immigrant status,” says Mayor Salwan.

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In a statement to ABC7 News, Fremont Police Chief Sean Washington says that while the police department can’t stop federal immigration enforcement efforts, Fremont police did not assist or provide resources for this deployment.

He concludes by saying: “The Fremont police department was not provided with details or information related to the results or actions of federal law enforcement deployed in the City of Fremont. We have no reports or information regarding the number (if any) of detentions or arrests.”

ICE did not return request for comment.

“I don’t understand this strategy around going door-to-door in terms of immigration enforcement,” says Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas.

This past week, Supervisor Fortunato Bas proposed a county-wide immigration enforcement response plan. She is raising concerns about how the trump administration is deploying ICE.

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“This administration has really ramped up immigration enforcement. And it doesn’t seem to be targeted to what they said, which is looking for people who have criminal records,” says Fortunato Bas.

California State Senator Aisha Wahab’s district covers all of Fremont. One of her concerns is the lack of transparency with local law enforcement and elected officials.

“The lack of transparency. The lack of dialogue. Even with other law enforcement agencies. So our local (police department), as well as our county sheriffs, the fact that they are kept in the dark when things like this are taking place,” says Senator Wahab. “Elected officials, like (me), when we have to actually to do digging rather than getting a notice that, ‘Hey, something like this is going to be conducted in your district.’ That is a problem. That erodes public trust.”