HAYWARD — City officials said they were blindsided by the recent arrests of two undocumented immigrants by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and have raised questions about how two family men headed to work ended up in detention and on a path toward deportation.

Related Articles How Trump could reshape the American Dream

ICE deports construction worker detained on Travis Air Force base

ICE came looking for one man, but arrested two others instead The city in a statement called on ICE for answers about the arrests of Antonio Valenzuela and Jose Salgado on July 27 after first reading about the incident in this newspaper. Officials said they also plan to issue a letter to the agency this week requesting timelier information for future ICE operations.

“In a community like ours — which is one of the most diverse and which is very welcoming of people from all over the world — people are very concerned about this happening and they want information,” Mayor Barbara Halliday said.

Officials stressed that it’s not the fact that ICE was in their city that concerned them, but the fact that ICE did not notify the police department of the arrests of Valenzuela and Salgado. Hayward Police Chief Mark Koller said the department expects to be notified of any arrests that result from ICE operations but, “that did not occur in this instance.”

Meanwhile, ICE spokesman James Schwab said the department is generally notified of ICE operations but that the details and results aren’t always shared.

The case highlights ongoing tensions between sanctuary cities and immigration officials, who have significantly intensified their crackdown on illegal immigration. City officials formally designated Hayward a sanctuary city in June, reaffirming policies that are welcoming of immigrants, which Halliday said have been in place for many years.

Valenzuela, 34, and Salgado, 42, were leaving the neighborhood along Harris Road about 6 a.m. for work when they were trailed by ICE agents, who arrested them soon after. The men’s families said ICE was originally looking to detain another man. Meanwhile, Salgado and Valenzuela remain in ICE custody at the Adelanto Detention Facility in Southern California.

Schwab said investigators found both men had been previously charged with criminal offenses. Court records show Valenzuela served time at Santa Rita Jail for a DUI conviction last year and is on probation through 2019. He had been repatriated to Mexico three times, including twice by federal agents, Schwab said. His wife, Esther León, refuted the deportation claims and said Valenzuela had only once signed a voluntary departure form.

This newspaper was unable to confirm criminal charges for Salgado. His case has been referred to immigration court under the Executive Office for Immigration Review, where a judge will determine whether he can legally remain in the country, Schwab said.

What remains unclear is how exactly ICE agents came to arrest Valenzuela and Salgado, who were not the targets of ICE’s operation that day. Schwab said agents were doing a “targeted enforcement action seeking a previously removed criminal alien” and were not checking everyone they came in contact with. He did not say why Valenzuela and Salgado were singled out.

Hayward spokesman Chuck Finnie said the city is aware that its sanctuary city status does not have “any bearing whatsoever on ICE.”

“The fundamental issue here is that the city of Hayward has a substantial interest in knowing that all of its residents are receiving due process under the law,” he said. “Based on what we read about the case and the very limited information we’ve been able to obtain, we’re really not able to ascertain that one way or another.”