Originally printed in the East Bay Express on June 28 2017
On July 11, the City of Oakland’s Public Safety Committee will consider two landmark policies to defend community members against the Trump Administration’s war on sanctuary cities and immigrants.
Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan is sponsoring a resolution that, if adopted, would rescind the Oakland Police Department’s authorization to participate in task forces with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
And Councilmember Lynette Gibson-McElhaney is sponsoring an ordinance that would require OPD officers to adhere at all times to state and local standards when participating in any federal task forces, including the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (“JTTF”), of which ICE is the largest member. In other words, the feds can’t make our cops do anything that’s a violation of our values and rules.
“California spends more time regulating barber shops and taco trucks than on regulating surveillance.”
Oakland Privacy writes in strong support of SB 54 (de León). Oakland Privacy is a citizen’s coalition that works regionally to defend the right to privacy and enhance public transparency and oversight regarding the use of surveillance techniques and equipment.
On June 1, Oakland’s Privacy Commission, the first citizens municipal commission on privacy in the country, recommended the termination of the memorandum of understanding between the Oakland Police Department and the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Division (ICE).