Related Articles Who is the ICE whistleblower? Have his views on immigration changed? OAKLAND — Weeks before Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf warned the public of an imminent Bay Area immigration raid — making her a punching bag for the Trump administration — ICE officials had said they would be “surprised” if they picked up 200 suspects in the widespread California sweep, according to internal emails exclusively obtained by the Bay Area News Group.

Yet those same officials have continued to target Schaaf, saying she jeopardized agents and was responsible for more than 860 criminals evading arrest, despite the fact Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents ultimately exceeded their initial expectations: The high-profile sweep netted 232 individuals from Bakersfield north to the Oregon border.

Internally, the agency considered it a win, an embattled former spokesman said. But ICE Director Thomas Homan, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and even President Donald Trump instead painted the operation as a failure, caused in large part by Schaaf and her “reckless” warning. The White House called for her to be criminally investigated for obstructing justice and used her as the poster child of sanctuary cities run amok.

The continued campaign prompted ICE Spokesman James Schwab to resign in March after almost three years with the agency and has led to three federal investigations into his accusations against his former department.

Dozens of heavily redacted emails — obtained by this news organization in a Freedom of Information Act request — and an extensive interview with Schwab provided no evidence that Schaaf’s comments allowed anyone to avoid capture. ICE agents had targeted only 10 Oakland residents — less than 1 percent of the list — with two being arrested, according to one email.

“Yesterday, I felt a truly disturbing mistake was made when we allowed the AG’s misleading statements stand without correction,” Schwab wrote in a resignation email to his ICE superiors on March 8, a day after Sessions harshly rebuked Schaaf at a Sacramento speech, blaming her for dangerous criminals avoiding capture. “AG Sessions and Mr. Homan continue to reiterate that more than 800 wanted criminals are at large because of the Oakland Mayor’s actions. While I was disturbed with her statement, I know that all of the targets would have never been picked up, regardless of anyone’s notifications.

“In fact, local (Enforcement and Removal Operations) said they’d be surprised if we picked up 200 before the Mayor even made the announcement. We ended up with more than the estimate …” he wrote.

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Schaaf said the emails exposed the White House’s agenda.

“Clearly, there was political posturing and vindictiveness,” Schaaf said in an interview Tuesday. “That’s not the job of government … But clearly we see just how disgusting this administration is.

“It reaffirms my gratitude to James Schwab as a public servant who recognizes that government is there to tell the truth,” Schaaf said. “Also how crucial transparency is and how crucial the Freedom of Information Act is so the public can get a window into what public servants are doing.”

In response to queries about the emails Tuesday, ICE sent the same statement spokeswoman Liz Johnson issued immediately after Schwab’s resignation in March.

“Even one criminal alien on the street can put public safety at risk and as Director Homan stated, while we can’t put a number on how many targets avoided arrest due to the mayor’s warning, it clearly had an impact,” Johnson said. “While we disagree with Mr. Schwab on this issue, we appreciate his service and wish him well.”

The emails and interview provide the clearest picture yet of the controversial ICE operation that placed Schaaf in the crosshairs of the Trump White House and led to lawsuits and heated rhetoric over sanctuary cities. They also illustrate the actions of a conflicted public servant who decided to take a stand.

How it started

Originally slated for January, the Bay Area ICE sweep was postponed due to the government shutdown late that month, Schwab said.

Local ICE agents targeted slightly more than 1,000 people, but internally they expected to only arrest between 150 to 200 people, Schwab said. Targets are often very transient and can be hard to find during sweeps, he said.

Everything changed Feb. 24 when Schaaf released a statement that ICE raids were imminent in her community. She was right, and the four-day operation would net 232 individuals and spark vociferous condemnation of the mayor by the president that continues to this day. An Iowa congressman last month even introduced a bill titled the “Mayor Libby Schaaf Act of 2018” that seeks to imprison officials who make similar warnings.

On March 1, Schwab released a news release providing the total arrests and detailed criminal histories of some captured individuals. The next day marching orders came down from the White House in an email titled: “WH wants more egregious examples from the 800+ targets we didn’t arrest.”

“(White House) is looking for 5 examples of egregious targets from the op that were not arrested…” the email said.

Breaking point

After Schaaf’s announcement, an ICE public affairs representative from Washington, D.C., came to the Bay Area for the raids and floated the idea of blaming the mayor for the people not rounded up, Schwab said, but local ICE leadership quashed it.

Yet Homan did just that during a FOX News interview, saying more than 800 dangerous criminals were on the street because of Schaaf.

“What she did is no better than a gang lookout yelling ‘police’ when a police cruiser comes in the neighborhood, except she did it to a whole community,” he said at the time.

The tipping point for Schwab came March 7 when Sessions gave a speech in Sacramento to announce lawsuits against sanctuary cities and blamed Schaaf for allowing bad guys to escape.

“There was no evidence at all that it affected the operation in any way,” Schwab said in an interview Tuesday. “It may have led to some not being detained. However, no one had any evidence of that.”

Schwab emailed his superiors later that day: “I am being inundated with calls asking about Homan and AG’s comments that we didn’t pick up over 800 additional targets because of the Oakland Mayor’s comments. Knowing that we never pick up that many … how should I respond?”

A return email from ICE public affairs headquarters — which was not included in the agency’s FOIA response to this news organization but obtained by other means — set Schwab off: “Send them Homan’s quote from the mid-week release last week and direct them to DOJ for further clarification re: Sessions’ speech.”

Two hours later, Schwab submitted his resignation email saying he could not do a job where he was “forced to dodge questions about information that I know is not true.”

Remarks from Q & A following @LibbySchaaf media briefing today. pic.twitter.com/Jd0mq1980C — Michael J. Hunt (@MJH510) June 13, 2018

Schwab said his superiors pleaded with him to sleep on his decision, but the following day he sent an even more pointed resignation email.

“Not correcting that statement was a choice that I felt perpetuated misleading statements, otherwise known as a lie,” Schwab wrote. “I’ve never been in a position where we wouldn’t correct mistakes like this. I get that HQ is in a tough position, but there are times when we should stand up for the integrity of our agency and our profession. Yesterday, we failed at that.”

Schwab said Tuesday he has no regrets.

“It was not a political game or decision. It was very black and white,” he said. “Someone asked me to perpetrate a lie by a senior government official and that’s just wrong.”

Since he resigned, he’s received little communication from ICE. He has kept a low profile in his San Jose home.

“I’m trying to figure my life out again. I have served the government for so long,” the 17-year federal employee said. “I want to find a job that is right for me next. I want it to be meaningful.”