California County Boasts ‘Rapid Response Network’ To Track ICE Agents

California’s Santa Clara County is promoting a “rapid response” network to track Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in San Jose and other Bay Area cities, already tracking down two ICE sightings.

The network logged ICE agents operating in San Jose over the weekend, with at least one detainment reported.

Members of the response network received a tip that ICE was operating there before pinpointing and following the federal law enforcement agents. San Jose Councilmember Peter Ortiz joined members of the network. “I was in a car, and we just started following ICE throughout the area, documenting what we saw, documenting what we were told.”

An illegal alien from Columbia residing in San Jose is believed to have been detained by ICE. The ICE effort is part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation operation, which has targeted criminal illegal aliens in cities across the country.

Critics say that the response network, which works to protect criminal illegal aliens from deportations, also puts federal law enforcement at risk during enforcement operations.

The rapid response network is promoted on the Santa Clara County government website.

“If you see ICE activity in Santa Clara County, you may call the Rapid Response Network,” the county’s site says. “The Rapid Response Network (RRN) in Santa Clara County is a community defense project developed to protect families from deportation threats and to provide support during and after a community member’s arrest or detention.” The network also provides suspected illegal aliens with immigration lawyers.

San Jose Democratic Mayor Matt Mahan said that the city’s police department does not cooperate with ICE in any way but was notified that the federal agency would be carrying out the enforcement operations. Santa Clara County is a sanctuary county and does not allow local law enforcement to honor ICE detainers, which ICE uses to gain custody of illegal aliens who’ve been charged with a crime and taken to jail.