Sharing of white nationalist’s video reopens old wounds
Department apologizes for erroneous retweet, but some are not convinced
When an Alameda County Sheriff’s spokesman erroneously retweeted a prominent white nationalist’s video as violent rallies unfolded Saturday in Charlottesville, Va., the department quickly apologized and said it was “in no way done intentionally.”
But some activists and residents weren’t so convinced. Sheriff Gregory Ahern’s department has already been an outlier in the liberal Bay Area. Neighboring law enforcement agencies — such as the San Jose and San Francisco police departments — have refused to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in defiance of the Trump
Administration’s illegal immigration crackdown.
So in the same week when Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith was stating in response to Charlottesville that she would “not allow hate, bigotry, misogyny, or racism,” immigrant-rights activists were picketing outside the Alameda County Sheriff’s office.
“This white supremacy retweet really rubbed salt into many wounds that this department has created,” said Jon Rodney, spokesman for the California Immigrant Policy Center in Oakland. “We have seen a very troubling pattern of very racist attitudes and practices.”
Ahern has supported U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, an advocate for stricter immigration enforcement, and opposed state Senate Bill 54, the “sanctuary state bill” which would limit communication between law enforcement officers and federal immigration agents. But Ahern said that doesn’t mean his department opposes immigrants.
Ahern said he opposes SB 54 because it would hinder the sheriffs’ department relationship with ICE and prevent it from fulfilling one of its key missions: to get dangerous criminals off the street.
“We are very welcoming, we believe in support for our immigrant population,” Ahern said. “What we don’t do is we don’t provide sanctuary to criminals. People violate the law, we take them into custody and have them go through due process.”
Ahern added that the sheriff’s department allows ICE into their facilities to take people into custody for which they have “wants or warrants.”
“We do no front-line immigration enforcement. Zero,” he said. “That authority is given to ICE.”
SB 54 has been amended to create exceptions for serious and violent crimes, but opponents say it doesn’t cover enough offenses. They argue that California already places restrictions on such collaboration, and that the new bill would make it even harder for the feds to apprehend suspects before they are released from a county jail.
Meanwhile, Ahern said the Dec. 20 letter he cosigned supporting the appointment of Attorney General Jeff Sessions on behalf of the California State Sheriff’s Association is “standard protocol” for people who get appointed to state or government positions. Ahern is chairman of the association’s political action committee.
“It’s almost a matter of routine,” he said.
Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston also came under fire from immigrant communities following a meeting with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in February, which sparked protests outside the sheriff’s office.
Sessions met with Livingston as well as other California sheriffs, and Livingston said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss “public safety and the help the Federal Government can provide us to make our communities safe.” The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department has collaborated with ICE since 1992, holding immigrant detainees at the West County Jail in Richmond.
Saturday’s Twitter incident prompted several hundred people to protest in front of the sheriff’s office this week. Staff with the Asian Law Caucus also submitted a public records request for information about the retweet of white supremacist Richard Spencer, the department’s following of the Twitter account of self-proclaimed “alt-right hero” Based Stickman and communications regarding SB 54.
“As you are aware, the role of the ACSO in immigration enforcement has been the subject of public controversy in Alameda County for several years,” wrote Saira Hussain, a staff attorney for the Asian Law Caucus and Layla Razavi, policy director for the California Immigrant Policy Center. “The controversy echoes a larger debate on the proper role of local police in immigration enforcement that is taking place across the state and the country.”
Contact Tatiana Sanchez at 408-920-5836.
“This white supremacy retweet really rubbed salt into many wounds that this department has created. We have seen a very troubling pattern of very racist attitudes and practices.”
— Jon Rodney, spokesman for the California Immigrant Policy Center in Oakland