‘A federal matter’: SF sheriff says department is not involved in immigration enforcement

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco's mayor says the city has been targeted by the federal government over immigration policy. The mayor and law enforcement are speaking out about additional immigration enforcement agents being deployed to the Bay Area. 

San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto said he's not aware of any times the city has turned someone in custody over to federal officials. He said his office and the police department are standing by the policy of not turning over those in custody to federal officials, saying it's a matter of safety. 

"Our department is not involved in immigration enforcement," said Miyamoto. "We feel that is a federal matter, and our realm of interest is public safety, and you can't really have a safe community if the community members are afraid to come to us to report crimes."

San Francisco leaders say they know the city's sanctuary city policies make the city a target.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is confirming that about 100 additional officers are being deployed to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but aren't saying exactly where those officers are being sent.

ICE's acting director did indicate that the additional officers would be sent to sanctuary cities “in jurisdictions where we are not allowed to assume custody of aliens from jails, our officers are forced to make at-large arrests of criminal aliens who have been released into communities. This effort requires a significant amount of additional time and resources.”

San Francisco's mayor is saying the city will stand by its immigrant community and sanctuary city policies. 

"We'll continue to support our immigrant community and stand up for our city and we're putting resources toward accomplishing that goal," said Mayor London Breed.

Reports that the officers would be trained tactical officers had some on edge. 

DHS released a statement that read in part, "the CBP agents and officers who are being detailed to help ICE come from a number of different sectors and job positions. While some of them are trained in tactical operations that is one of the many areas of training.”

Mayor Breed said it's clear the city's policies have made it a top priority for the Trump administration. 

"We're being targeted on so many levels," said Breed. "But, the fact is we're a strong city, we're a resilient city and we will fight against those attacks and we will protect the people of this city."

San Francisco Police Department said they are not hearing anything official from federal officials so far, but they are hearing that this will be a regional crackdown.

We reached out to the Oakland mayor’s office and Alameda County Sheriff's Office. Both said they have not been briefed on any immigration enforcement efforts, nor do they expect to be briefed in advance.