Democratic Mayor Barbara Lee of Oakland, California, boasted Monday during the Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting that the city defies federal immigration law.
Democrats’ favorability plummeted to 29%, according to a CNN poll released in March as the party faced infighting and difficulty meeting fundraising goals, with a July poll conducted by Quinnipiac showing only 19% approved of the party’s congressional leadership. Lee was the final speaker of the day at the DNC event.
“Oakland is a community that fights for democracy every day and it’s one I am honored to represent as I approach my first 100 days as mayor and I just happen to be Oakland’s first black woman mayor,” Lee claimed. “Now you all know that signs of authoritarianism cannot be ignored. So, I just want to take a minute to thank California’s Democrats, led by [Democratic] Gov. [Gavin] Newsom, all right, and I want to thank Texas Democrats for standing strong. I was born in Texas, proud Californian.”
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“Together we are leading the fight to protect our democracy,” Lee continued. “Donald Trump, you know, he trashed Oakland, he lied about us, but Oakland is not afraid. We embrace all residents, including our immigrant communities. Our police do not cooperate with ICE. We don’t.”
President Donald Trump issued several executive orders to address illegal immigration on Jan. 20, 2025, including one that designated the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA), the El Salvadoran prison gang MS-13 and Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Democrats have fiercely opposed Trump’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, filing multiple lawsuits to block his orders.
In Texas, there were two incidents where shots were fired at ICE or Border Patrol facilities since July 4, with ten people being charged with attempted murder in connection to the attack in Alvarado, Texas.
Resistance to ICE operations to arrest illegal immigrants has also included a Milwaukee judge who allegedly helped an illegal immigrant briefly evade ICE agents in April. Democratic Mayor Freddie O’Connell of Nashville released the names of ICE agents involved in a crackdown on illegal immigrants in the city in May.
In New York City, ICE agents arrested Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander on June 18 after he allegedly interfered with an operation in a Manhattan court, while Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey was charged with assaulting an ICE agent after an incident in May at an ICE facility in Newark.
One person fired at ICE agents with a pistol when ICE raided a California marijuana farm in July after obtaining a warrant, with the FBI offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the suspect’s identification, arrest and conviction.
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