By admin 
Three months after the Sacramento City Council voted to continue funding a regional intelligence-sharing center over objections from immigration advocates, protesters are renewing their demand that the city sever ties with the operation amid an escalation in federal immigration enforcement.
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The renewed campaign comes as Council members Caity Maple and Mai Vang, who opposed the agreement in July, are working on a proposal to increase transparency over data sharing between Sacramento police and other agencies.
On Tuesday evening, protesters gathered outside the City Council chambers, beating drums and chanting through a microphone as council members finished a discussion on homelessness.
“Say it once, say it twice — we will not put up with ICE.”
Earlier this month, the Trump administration reportedly launched a 45-day effort to detain immigrants in California. Sources told the Washington Examiner that officers were instructed to target immigrants with and without criminal records as part of “Operation Safe California.” Gov. Gavin Newsom called the effort, launched just ahead of the midterm election, a “campaign of fear.”
Sacramento-area volunteers who monitor immigration enforcement said they have documented a surge in ICE activity across the region, along with growing tensions outside the John E. Moss Federal Building downtown.
Giselle Garcia, director of NorCal Resist, said her organization has seen a major surge in street enforcement by federal agencies since Oct. 8. NorCal Resist’s Migra Watch program, a rapid-response network of volunteers who confirm and document local ICE activity, has been inundated with reports of ICE sightings from Sacramento to the Oregon border, she said.
“We are under the impression that this is the new normal given the massive increase in resources that this agency has access now — to hire more agents, to obtain more vehicles, get new kinds of weapons, etcetera,” Garcia said. “We understand that this escalation and aggression is intentional. It is to instill fear in the community so that we stop responding to and stop documenting their egregious actions.”
A local political group was already scheduled to rally in front of City Hall before immigration enforcement observer Antonio Moreida was struck by an ICE vehicle in Woodland Tuesday morning. The collision became a focal point of the demonstration, with protesters citing it as evidence of growing tensions between immigration agents and capital communities.
Trouble at ICE field office
For months, protesters outside the Moss building, which houses immigration court and ICE offices, have accused Sacramento police of assisting federal agents and harassing demonstrators. The Police Department has denied assisting with civil immigration enforcement.
Alyssa Gatti has been involved with the Camp for Justice stationed at the building since it was established last year. She and other volunteers track movement in and out of the building, federal agent activity and city police presence. She said she has witnessed Sacramento police directing traffic for federal immigration agents, including escorting vehicles the wrong way down N Street to reach the back gates.
The Police Department did not directly answer The Sacramento Bee’s question about claims that officers escort ICE vehicles into the federal building but pointed to its immigration FAQ webpage, which explains how officers respond to calls for service where immigration enforcement is taking place.
“If officers respond and determine that a federal enforcement action is occurring, SPD personnel may take steps necessary to safeguard lives and property, such as maintaining a safe perimeter or directing traffic when needed. SPD does not assist with civil immigration enforcement,” the webpage reads.
On Sept. 24, Sacramento police arrested two protesters, Jaxon Benjamin and Leanna Hunt, outside the building. In a statement, a Sacramento police spokesperson said the protesters generated multiple calls for service throughout the day. Benjamin was charged with allegedly obstructing a police officer and being a public nuisance. Hunt was charged with allegedly attempting to interfere with Benjamin’s arrest.
“Responding officers located one of the demonstrators seated in a chair in the roadway, blocking a lane of traffic. The subject refused to move out of the roadway after requests by officers,” the spokesperson wrote.
Videos filmed by protesters showed officers removing traffic cones placed in the street by demonstrators. In footage posted by activist Allen O’Brien, an officer appeared to direct Benjamin into the roadway before ordering them out of the street. Benjamin returned to the sidewalk before officers detained them. Hunt was taken to the ground during the same confrontation.
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Hunt said she was left in handcuffs for four hours and spent an additional eight hours in the “drunk tank” at Sacramento County Main Jail. She said she filed internal affairs complaints with both the city and the county.
In the weeks since the incident, Hunt and other witnesses have addressed the City Council several times, urging city leaders to protect protesters’ free speech rights in the area surrounding the federal building.
Hunt returned to the council podium Tuesday night with a warning.
“ICE has killed people in other states, and there are no checks or balances on where those agents go,” she said. “Someone will die, and the blood will be on your hands.”
Pursuit to end Sacramento contract with feds
Sacramento has long designated itself a sanctuary city, limiting local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. In June, the City Council unanimously approved an immigration action plan restricting the use of city property for civil immigration enforcement. Advocates criticized the plan as insufficient.
In July, the council voted 5-2 to renew a federal homeland security grant agreement supporting the Central California Intelligence Center, with Maple and Vang opposed. Sacramento acts as a pass-through for federal funding that helps the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office staff the center. The center is one of five regional fusion centers in California where local, state and federal agencies share intelligence related to criminal activity and public safety.
Despite repeated assurances from Sacramento police that their information sharing complies with state and city sanctuary laws, immigration advocates remain concerned that sensitive information, including license plate-reader data, could reach federal immigration agents.
At the July council meeting, Sacramento Police Department Deputy Chief Bryce Heinlein said the department did not share personally identifying information for civil immigration enforcement and shared only intelligence related to criminal activity.
A Bee public records request sought any additional memoranda of understanding, agreements or written protocols related to information sharing between the Sacramento Police Department and the Central California Intelligence Center. The department provided only the publicly available grant agreement. A police spokesperson confirmed that no additional agreements existed between the department and the fusion center.
Public records obtained by The Bee showed that Sacramento police shared local license plate-reader data with two other fusion centers in California.
Maple and Vang are working on a policy proposal that would establish “clear guidelines and transparency” for data sharing with interagency task forces.
“The goal is to ensure the community understands the terms of these agreements, Sac PD’s role in these partnerships, and what information is being shared,” Vang’s spokesperson Alexxiss Diaz said.
Garcia of NorCal Resist said restricting access to surveillance technology is an important step for the city to take toward protecting local immigrants and their advocates.
“It is a critical initiative that they challenge and that they do not allow more access to surveillance technology that will be weaponized against immigrants and allies of immigrants who are simply asserting their right to document law enforcement activity,” she said.
This story was originally published October 22, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline “As Sacramento ICE activity rises, immigration fears renew fight over police data.”
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