Protesters want ICE out of Oakland amid reports of seven people taken into custody
on September 21, 2025
Chanting “ICE out of Oakland!” and “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go!” protesters demonstrated Saturday near the East Oakland intersection where federal immigration agents reportedly had taken a person into custody three days earlier.
They cheered when horns honked and engaged with a few drivers and pedestrians who stopped to talk.
“We’re here at the heart of this community to try to show that we’re not intimidated, we stand with immigrant rights, and we will stand against Trump’s attacks,” said Danny Celaya, one of the organizers, with Community Service Organization Oakland.
About 15 people joined the protest, which was organized by CSO through the Legalization for All Network, a nationwide coalition of groups. It came days after reports surfaced of a second detention in Oakland since August by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and new efforts from state and local officials to limit federal immigration enforcement.
Taken into custody
Around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, a driver was stopped near the intersection of 73rd and Bancroft avenues by unmarked vehicles, according to an Instagram post by the Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership, which is monitoring ICE activity.
The post said agents wore clothing that said “POLICE” and identified themselves as “police.” It said agents demanded immigration documents from both the driver and passenger, then handcuffed the passenger and identified themselves as ICE.
Oakland North could not independently verify this account. ICE did not respond to requests for comment. The Oakland Police Department said that ICE alerted them of their presence prior to the arrest, but did not release additional details.
This is the second reported ICE action in Oakland since Aug. 12, when six people were taken into custody at a home on 79th Avenue, about half a mile from Wednesday’s stop. An attorney who met with the six people in detention told The Oaklandside that a 17-year-old and someone with a severe disability were among those arrested.
Mayors push back
On Friday, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan announced an initiative to raise $10 million to assist immigrant families facing pressure from federal immigration enforcement.
Alameda County Supervisors Nikki Fortunato Bas and Elisa Márquez each pledged $50,000 from their offices to help the fund, which will be managed by the San Francisco Foundation. The first recipient will be the Mission Asset Fund in San Francisco. Judith Bell, San Francisco Foundation’s chief impact officer, said they will announce additional recipients soon.
“Our immigrant neighbors deserve safety, dignity, and the knowledge that the entire Bay Area — Oakland, San Francisco, and beyond — stands with them,” Lee said in a statement. “This fund is our commitment to protect families from the fear of deportations and raids, to strengthen our communities, and to push back against policies that seek to divide us.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed multiple bills on Saturday that aim to limit ICE’s ability to operate in the state. This includes a bill known as the “No Secret Police Act,” which bans federal and local law enforcement from wearing face masks. He also signed bills to make it more difficult for immigration enforcement to enter schools and hospitals, among other things.
“Public safety depends on trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve,” Newsom said in a news release Saturday. Trump and Stephen Miller, his deputy chief of staff, “have shattered that trust,” he added. “California is putting an end to it and making sure schools and hospitals remain what they should be: places of care, not chaos.”
(Top photo: Danny Celaya leads a chant at 73rd and Bancroft avenues, by Eli Benton Cohen)
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