Oakland Mayor Schaaf punches back at Trump after he tweets about ICE raids to arrest millions

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf gives a speech after being sworn in as mayor during an inauguration ceremony for elected representatives at City Hall in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, January 7, 2019. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf gives a speech after being sworn in as mayor during an inauguration ceremony for elected representatives at City Hall in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, January 7, 2019. Photo: Michael Short / The Chronicle 2018 Buy photo Photo: Michael Short / The Chronicle 2018 Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Oakland Mayor Schaaf punches back at Trump after he tweets about ICE raids to arrest millions 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Stepping back into a fight that earned her national attention last year, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said Tuesday she would alert undocumented immigrants of any planned raids after President Trump tweeted that authorities will move to deport millions of people next week.

“The idea of mass rounding up of people is what violates civil rights,” Schaaf told reporters in a briefing Tuesday. “We have seen it over and over again. This is a frightening threat from the president. I hope it is just more mindless rhetoric as he prepares to announce his re-election bid, but we have got to be prepared.”

Schaaf first condemned Trump’s tweets Monday night, shortly after the president said that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would conduct raids as early as next week to remove undocumented immigrants “who have illicitly found their way” into the country.

“They will be removed as fast as they come in,” Trump tweeted.

Next week ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States. They will be removed as fast as they come in. Mexico, using their strong immigration laws, is doing a very good job of stopping people....... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019

....long before they get to our Southern Border. Guatemala is getting ready to sign a Safe-Third Agreement. The only ones who won’t do anything are the Democrats in Congress. They must vote to get rid of the loopholes, and fix asylum! If so, Border Crisis will end quickly! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019

ICE officials reportedly told the Washington Post that no operations were planned. Trump’s tweets came on the eve of his re-election kickoff Tuesday, and experts questioned ICE’s ability to arrest and deport “millions” of immigrants as the president predicted.

Paul Prince, an ICE spokesman for San Francisco and Northern California, referred The Chronicle to the White House, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Schaaf said local residents “don’t need to take these threats seriously,” but she called the president’s immigration policies racist.

“It is clear that he has treated immigrants coming from South American and Latin countries, as well as African countries, differently than he is treating immigrants from European and white countries,” Schaaf said. “That is not the values of Oakland, it should not be the values of America. I cannot stomach this racist hate-mongering from someone who is in government.”

In 2018, Schaaf clashed with Trump and was threatened with arrest after she warned residents of potential ICE raids. Prior to the announcement, the mayor said she conferred with legal counsel to make sure she wasn’t opening herself up to federal prosecution. That week, ICE arrested 232 people in raids over four days in Northern California.

Schaaf responded to the president’s tweet Monday by saying she would again warn the community if she receives “credible information.”

“If you continue to threaten, target and terrorize families in my community ... and if we receive credible information ... you already know what our values are in Oakland — and we will unapologetically stand up for those values,” Schaaf tweeted.

. @realDonaldTrump If you continue to threaten, target and terrorize families in my community... and if we receive credible information... you already know what our values are in Oakland — and we will unapologetically stand up for those values. https://t.co/VKuDWAw3KG — Libby Schaaf (@LibbySchaaf) June 18, 2019

Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín also tweeted condemnation of the president’s comments, though he stopped short of threatening to warn residents of potential raids.

“We will not be intimidated by fearful rhetoric and will continue to advocate for the human rights of everyone,” Arreguín said.

Concerned about ICE raids? Know your rights. We will not be intimidated by fearful rhetoric and will continue to advocate for the human rights of everyone. https://t.co/Z1TOzc8Uzq — Jesse Arreguin (@JesseArreguin) June 18, 2019

Schaaf said her 2018 warning was intended “not to panic our residents but to protect them.” Her statements were among the most assertive maneuvers by a local politician to counter the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions ripped into Schaaf at a 2018 speech in Sacramento.

“How dare you needlessly endanger the lives of law enforcement just to promote a radical open borders agenda,” he said.

On Tuesday, Schaaf called the president’s tweet “ironic.”

“I, of course, find it a bit ironic that a president who was so critical of my informing my community about the potential of a raid has himself now warned the entire nation,” she said.

Schaaf emphasized Oakland’s position as a sanctuary city, which by law limits police cooperation with federal immigration agents.

“We are not breaking any laws, we are simply not using our precious local resources to in any way assist with what is a federal civil matter and that is immigration enforcement,” she said.

Schaaf defended her 2018 announcement at the time by noting the case of Oakland nurse Maria Mendoza-Sanchez, who along with her husband was deported in 2017 after more than two decades in the United States. The couple left behind four children who have legal status.

Mendoza-Sanchez was allowed to return to the States on an H-1B visa after being separated from her family for 16 months.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani