This story aired in the February 25, 2025 episode of Crosscurrents.
President Donald Trump made mass deportations a central part of his re-election campaign. The full scope of the operation is not yet known, but arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement across the country have created a wave of fear in immigrant communities.
Last month here in the Bay Area, there were reports of arrests in San Francisco and San Jose. But there was also significant pushback, both by community groups and by local governments themselves.
San Francisco, Berkeley, and multiple cities around the Bay Area are so-called “sanctuary cities.” In fact, Berkeley was the first city in the country to adopt “sanctuary status,” all the way back in 1971.
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Story Transcript:
HOFFMAN: Welcome! Bienvenidos a todos y todas.
REPORTER: The day after president trump’s inauguration, I'm at the Berkeley school district’s office building. The city council is having their first meeting of the year, and outside, it looks like about 100 people are assembling for a press conference.
HOFFMAN: We are very pleased to see all of you here tonight as we send a powerful and collective message to our immigrant friends, neighbors and colleagues that we are here. This is where we live and we are not going to back down. Sanctuary is alive and well!
REPORTER: One by one, the mayor, city council members, faith leaders, and community groups, address the crowd and throw their support behind a city resolution that re-affirms Berkeley's status as a sanctuary city.
ADENA ISHII: Good evening everyone!
REPORTER: Here’s Berkeley's new mayor, Adena Ishii.
ISHII: With the new administration, we must reaffirm to our community that we are still a sanctuary city. The city of Berkeley is committed to the safety of all of our residents. Berkeley has a long tradition of supporting its immigrants and undocumented communities. We have reaffirmed our sanctuary status half a dozen times as new threats arose, and I am honored to continue this tradition.
REPORTER: After the press conference I talk to someone who has been part of this tradition for decades. Bennett Falk is a member of the University Lutheran Church and tells me that Berkeley's history with sanctuary actually goes all the way back to the Vietnam War.
BENNETT FALK: It started basically in 1971 because the original sanctuary declaration was specifically specific to the Vietnam War. Yeah, the first thing that happened was there were some people already in military service who were destined to be shipped off to Vietnam. The aircraft carrier Coral Sea was here, and there were some conscientious objectors on board the ship. And they wanted to have their case heard before being shipped off.
REPORTER: By that point, many people were protesting the Vietnam War, and Bennett's church decided to lend the objectors their support.
FALK: Our congregation voted to offer sanctuary to conscientious objectors. And in practical terms, it meant that we would support them. If they needed a place to stay, we would provide that. But the real job was to keep their pursuit of conscientious objector status in the public eye.
REPORTER: At first, it was only a small group of churches lending sanctuary, but Berkeley soon decided to designate the entire city as a “sanctuary” — the first in the country to do anything like this.
Then in the late 70s and early 80s, increasing political violence in central america sent more and more latin americans seeking safety in the u.s…. and churches and cities began to offer “sanctuary” to immigrants seeking asylum as well. Berkeley became a sanctuary city for refugees in 1985. San Francisco followed a few months later.
A few days after the council meeting, i meet up with rebecca gerny, a staff member of the east bay sanctuary covenant, outside her office in berkeley to, understand what this concept means today.
REBECCA GERNY: So sanctuary city policies basically are policies of non compliance with ice. So it is a declaration that the city will not use resources, meaning, you know, money or like, they will not share information about immigrants. And specifically, it really means that the police and local law enforcement will not cooperate with ICE. If someone is detained. They will not ask about their immigration status, and they will not share information about their transfer or release with immigration enforcement officers. That does not mean that ICE cannot operate in those cities. ICE can operate independently in those cities without the support of the local government.
REPORTER: With Trump's return to office, a big part of Rebecca's job is helping immigrants prepare for the dramatic increase in immigration raids he’s been promising…and the fear that comes with it
GERNY: The main thing we're telling people is to remain calm. Especially in California. There's a lot of fear politics going on right now, and so making sure that people still go to the hospital, still go to school and continue to live your life. But be prepared. And so what it means to be prepared is to learn about your rights.
REPORTER: Every person in the U.S. - regardless of their citizenship status - has certain rights. Rebecca says, saying those calmly and clearly to an immigration officer can result in someone not being detained. Those rights include the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.
GERNY: Practice saying, I have the right to remain silent. I have the right to an attorney. Am I under arrest? May I please leave? Are all things that are totally within your rights to say.
REPORTER: She also stressed that even though Trump has rescinded protections for so-called “sensitive areas” — like schools, churches, hospitals — ICE still needs signed warrants.
GERNY: ICE are not permitted to enter any private space without a signed judicial warrant. Oftentimes, ICE does not have a signed judicial warrant. They use administrative warrants or Department of Homeland Security warrants. And if those are not signed by a judge, that does not give them the right to enter a school, a church, or a hospital without being let in by an employee.
REPORTER: Another big part of Rebecca's work is training allies to know all this information. She often hears from people who want to assist migrants but are unsure of what to do.
GERNY: The first is to, you know, learn your rights. The rights I described are not exclusive to immigrants. Know the number of the rapid response hotline for your county, most California counties do have a rapid response hotline.
REPORTER: These are 24/7 hotlines run by non-profit groups that monitor ice activity and also offer legal assistance. Rebecca says anyone can report to these hotlines if they see immigration enforcement officers in their community.
GERNY: And so being aware of if there are ICE raids happening in your community, show up, record, ask for badge numbers. What I've been telling our staff is being annoying is free. So as annoying as you can be to an ICE officer, just, why are you here? What are you doing? Where is your warrant? Just really try to put yourself between the enforcement officer and people who are trying to be investigated.
REPORTER: In addition to Berkeley and San Francisco, many Bay Area cities and counties have policies to not cooperate with ICE. And in 2017, California passed a statewide law preventing any state or local law enforcement cooperation with ICE.
GERNY: We have lots of allies. We have the city and state government behind us, and we will do everything we can to protect our immigrant community members and make sure that every single person in our community feels safe, feels protected, is able to go to school and to church and use the hospital without fear of family separation or deportation.
REPORTER: The sanctuary movement was born in the the bay area. and it’s clear that it’s continuing into president trump's second term. But if Trump follows through on his immigration agenda, the sanctuary movement will be put to the hardest test yet.
For more information about “Know Your Rights” campaigns or the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, you can visit their website: EastBaySanctuary.org.