I prefer to stay out of the news, but sometimes the news comes to us. For example, last month we learned, less than 24 hours in advance, of a federal deployment of immigration enforcement agents to Coast Guard Island Alameda, an artificial island in the Oakland Estuary between Alameda and Oakland. Though located in Alameda’s city limits, Coast Guard Island is a secure, federally-owned facility.
Protests of the deployment outside Coast Guard Island were largely peaceful until an individual trying to back a U-Haul truck through barricades and onto the island was shot by Coast Guard law enforcement officers and arrested.
The office of Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez later confirmed that the planned Bay Area immigration law enforcement surge operation had been called off due in part to a phone conversation between San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and the U.S. president.
It is important to note that the Alameda Police Department, pursuant to the city of Alameda’s sanctuary city policy, will not assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in immigration enforcement. However, the city cannot prevent action by ICE or other entities that the president deploys to assist in immigration enforcement.
Therefore, residents should know their rights. If you think you see ICE in action, suspect ICE activity in progress or know someone (including yourself) who has been detained by ICE, call the Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership (ACILEP) hotline for verification, rapid response and immigration legal services at 510-241-4011. For more information, visit the city’s website at alamedaca.gov and type “Know your rights” into the search box.
Finally, remember that Alameda is a proud official “U.S. Coast Guard City” and home to hundreds of Coast Guard members and their families who live, work and attend school here, volunteer in the community and support local businesses.
The women and men who serve in the U.S. Coast Guard perform vital services around this hemisphere every day, including maritime rescue operations, drug interdiction and protecting America’s ports and waterways. As part of the U.S. Homeland Security Department, they take their orders from the federal homeland security secretary.
While the First Amendment provides the right to peacefully protest government actions, our Coast Guard friends and neighbors deserve only our continued support and gratitude for the sacrifices they make in service to our nation, often in the face of great danger.
Food insecurity: As I write this article near the start of a sixth week of a U.S. government shutdown, the federal administration has announced that it will comply with two federal court orders to release emergency funds to help cover Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
However, recipients of this food assistance will receive only about half the amount of aid they normally receive, adding to growing food insecurity in the Bay Area and beyond, as SNAP recipients and federal workers continue to miss payments. Fortunately, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors’ voted recently to allocate $10 million of Measure W funds to fight food insecurity.
Of these funds, $8.3 million will support the Alameda County Community Food Bank, which helps supply local food banks, including the Alameda Food Bank (AFB), and $1.7 million will help fund Meals on Wheels and other programs serving seniors.
AFB serves only those who live, work, or go to school in the city of Alameda. Each eligible family can receive food once a week, in-person at the food bank’s Island Community Market. Those with mobility issues can order online for curbside pickup. AFB is at 650 W. Ranger Ave. on Alameda Point in Alameda and served by AC Transit’s 96 bus route.
Distribution hours are from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and Fridays and from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays. If you need food assistance, visit alamedafoodbank.org online for more information. For seniors, lunch is provided at Mastick Senior Center Mondays through Fridays at noon. Served by AC Transit’s 51A bus route, Mastick Senior Center is at 1155 Santa Clara Ave.
For more information or to sign up to receive these nutritious meals provided by Spectrum Community Services, call 510-747-7503. Homebound Alameda residents can have hot meals delivered to their home seven days a week from Alameda Meals on Wheels. For more information, call 510-865-6131. No one in Alameda should go hungry.
Give thanks: Scientific studies have shown that gratitude can improve our psychological well-being. So as we enter the Thanksgiving season and beyond, find something you’re grateful for and express your gratitude to others.
I’m grateful for the wonderful Alamedans who volunteer in many ways for various organizations, schools, sports teams and more, to make our community a better place. I’m also grateful to be your mayor. Let’s stay “Alameda Strong!”
Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft is the mayor of Alameda. For contact information and other details, visit bit.ly/mayorashcraft online.