Hundreds protest ICE and Flock surveillance cameras across East Bay

The Trump administration closed San Francisco Immigration Court at 100 Montgomery St. on Jan. 13, 2026, after firing 13 of 21 judges. The closure redirects over 120,000 pending immigration cases to Concord, 30 miles away. Court staff must relocate to Concord by summer 2026. The Concord court already has a 6,000-case backlog and lost five of its 13 judges to firings in 2025.

Flock Safety operates over 5,000 license plate reader cameras across 🌴California cities including Oakland, San Francisco, Berkeley, Mountain View, and Los Gatos. The solar-powered cameras operate 24/7 on poles throughout neighborhoods, capturing every vehicle that passes. Each camera records license plates, timestamps, vehicle descriptions, and location data, storing it in a centralized database accessible to law enforcement agencies nationwide.

Public records obtained through 🌴California Public Records Act requests show over 4,000 Flock database searches conducted at the request of federal immigration authorities. San Jose police department search logs show reasons including 'fresno dea intel', 'CBP', and 'ICE'. Federal agencies don't contract directly with Flock but access data through local police departments that do.

🌴California Attorney General RBRob Bonta filed a lawsuit against the City of El Cajon in October 2025 for illegally sharing automated license plate reader data with out-of-state law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities. The lawsuit alleges El Cajon violated California's sanctuary state laws and privacy protections. Mountain View shut down its entire Flock camera network over concerns about the company's data privacy practices.

Oakland renewed its Flock Safety contract in December 2025 despite the city's Privacy Advisory Commission refusing to endorse the expansion. The contract covers nearly 300 automated license plate readers and pan-tilt-zoom cameras. A lawsuit filed by Secure Justice in November 2025 alleges Oakland police repeatedly broke the law by sharing sensitive surveillance data with federal authorities, including ICE.

The San Francisco Standard reported in July 2025 that San Francisco Police Department accessed Oakland's Flock system and turned over data to federal law enforcement officials numerous times. This occurred despite Oakland Police Department's assurances to the Privacy Advisory Commission that as a sanctuary city, Oakland doesn't share data with ICE. OPD's existing policy requires manual approval of each external request, but the lawsuit claims the department abandoned that process.

Concord Mayor LNLaura Nakamura led the Valentine's Day "Love Your Neighbor" march through the Monument neighborhood, home to many immigrants. Hundreds wore white, red, and pink colors. Oakland organizer CDCody Dadiw said 🌴California's liberal reputation 'creates a sense of detachment from what's happening across the country.' The protests occurred nationwide on Valentine's Day, with similar rallies in Chicago, El Paso, and other cities.