Bill Balderston
Posted November 10, 2025
On the morning of Thursday, October 23rd, a caravan of federal Customs and Border Protection agents arrived in the Bay Area, being housed at the Coast Guard facilities in the East Bay community of Alameda, separated from Oakland by an estuary; (it is also the town in which I teach). Alameda is a very diverse community ethnically, with many immigrant families from East Asia, the Middle East (mainly Yemeni) and even west Africa, as well as Latin America. It is also the home base for Rob Bonta, the state Attorney General, a constant critic of Trump, and an initiator of nearly daily new lawsuits targeting his administration — making it a tempting target for federal bullying.
This action finally took form after several months of threats from the “liar in chief” Trump, specifically referencing Oakland, as a city “out of control.” However, the initial news release that week mentioned agents coming to San Francisco. Yet within hours, Trump put out a statement saying a “surge” in San Francisco was put on hold, after he spoke with SF mayor Daniel Lurie and some hi-tech moguls like Marc Benioff, who claimed local law enforcement was doing a good job. Trump, of course, maintained that federal forces could do the job faster, but was willing to delay for the moment.
It is not clear what this means for the East Bay (Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, other towns in the East Bay -where the agents are being housed), or San Jose, in the South Bay.
The federal agents were “greeted” (confronted) by 150-200 protestors. The activists were met with stun grenades and paint- and pepper-balls; one United Church of Christ pastor, Jorge Bautista, was struck in the face with one of the latter. The faith community participation in the protest was significant: the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity helped initiate the action. While some clergy were from Oakland, such as Allison Tanner, from Lakeshore Baptist Church, a longtime activist congregation, other parts of the Bay were also represented by, for example, the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, an organization active in immigrant rights for over 35 years. It is worth noting that nearly all the main East Bay towns/cities are “sanctuary communities”, a major target for Trump.
Later in the day, a coalition of faith, labor and community leaders held a rally, and press conference at San Francisco City Hall. There was also a protest in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood, the city’s primary Latino community (and where I live).
Finally, the protests culminated with a massive rally/march in San Francisco, called by Bay Area Resistance with an estimated 50,000 participating. The next day a number of small actions were held, gathering at local libraries (they were selected as being public gathering spaces, but there was some confusion over this).
Bay Area Resistance is an example of the kind of networks on immigrant rights that have developed in the Bay Area, since Trump’s first term, readying people to respond to the current situation. My union, the Oakland Education Association (OEA) has for several months been organizing a rapid response network for the schools. We are seeking labor and community commitments (including DSA as a community organization) so that we would have at least 50 people present at any school in 15 minutes where ICE showed up, and a hundred there within a half hour.
While the Oakland School District put out a statement of warning about ICE earlier in the week, many feel that the preparation in most school districts, with the possible exception of Berkeley, is inadequate. An increase in absenteeism among immigrant students (based on attendance in “newcomer” programs in Oakland) was noticeable last week; this was likely true elsewhere in the Bay Area. Right now, there is little panic about the CBP agents, but that could change quickly, Most Dia De Los Muertos events (except in San Jose) are still on track to occur. Trainings on “non-cooperation” are occurring regularly, organized by Bay Area Resistance, and supported by a range of groups, including the labor councils, and Indivisible. The level of confrontation with federal forces comes nowhere near to matching what has been seen to date in Los Angeles, Chicago or DC. Much of the political focus here currently is on Prop 50 (the districting referendum) and the possible SNAP cutoff.
Finally, on a side note, Sami Hamdi, a UK political commentator, a strong critic of the Zionist policies of Israel, and director of the organization International Interest, was detained at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday, Oct. 26, and had his visa revoked. He was on a speaking tour and had appeared the night before at a major event in Sacramento for the Council on the American Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR denounced the action as one more violation of free speech, while the Department of Homeland Security reiterated their ongoing stand that they can deport anyone endangering US security (aka “being pro-Palestinian”).
Leave a Reply