Federal agents ‘knock and talk’ in Fremont

FREMONT — An undisclosed number of federal agents appeared in Fremont on Saturday to knock on doors and seek “voluntary cooperation” with “specific individuals,” Fremont officials said.

Sometime Saturday morning, federal agents dropped into the city and by early afternoon they had allegedly left the city, according to Fremont spokeswoman Geneva Bosques. She said it was unclear from which agency the agents were from, how many there were, or where they were conducting their work. She said by about 12:20 p.m., the agents had left the city, though declined to provide further information.

Fremont Mayor Raj Salwan told this news organization he first heard federal agents would be in Fremont from City Manager Karena Shackelford sometime mid-morning. He said agents were expected to be conducting “knock and talk” visits with some residents throughout the city, though he said neither U.S.  Immigrations and Customs Enforcement nor anyone from the Department of Homeland Security contacted him directly to discuss details of their actions.

“As far as I know, this is kind of a voluntary check they’re doing. It’s not heavy handed,” he said, but he added, “I don’t have all the details.”

Fremont officials as of Saturday afternoon were unclear which federal departments or agencies may have been in the city. Fremont Police Chief Sean Washington did not immediately return a request for comment Saturday afternoon.

Mayor Salwan said he wants to “build trust” in his city between residents and law enforcement, and also called Fremont a “relatively safe city. We have not been a big target. I feel for the most part, people should feel safe.”

“We don’t conduct these federal operations, they’re independently done,” Salwan said. “We just focus on our own scope, which is not immigration enforcement.”

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.