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Acting ICE Director Tells Oakland Mayor: 'We're Not Going Away'

Thomas Homan's statement comes after the mayor of Oakland, California, alerted residents of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid.

By: Katherine Biek

Posted at 1:05 PM, Feb 28, 2018

and last updated 2018-02-28 13:05:15-05

The acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had this to say about immigration raids in the country:

"I’ll say this to the mayor and every other politician that wants to vilify the men and women of ICE: We're not going away, we're going to keep enforcing the law," acting director of ICE Thomas Homan said in a Fox News interview.

Homan was referring to Libby Schaaf, the mayor of Oakland, California. She somewhat foiled a local ICE immigration operation by issuing an alert before it could take place.

ICE announced deportation officers arrested more than 150 people who are in the U.S. illegally during the raid, noting roughly half of them have criminal convictions.

But Homan noted officers failed to locate more than 800 others and placed at least part of the blame on Schaaf's warning, calling it an "irresponsible decision."

Schaaf doesn't regret her alert, saying, "My priority is for the long-term well-being of Oakland, and I know that our city is safer when we share information that leads to community awareness."