After spokesman quits in protest, ICE ‘can’t put a number’ on missed arrests

File - In this Dec. 5, 2017 file photo, then Acting Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Thomas Homan takes a question from a reporter at a Department of Homeland Security news conference in Washington. A federal immigration official says about 800 people living in Northern California were able to avoid arrest because of a warning by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. Homan, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief, told "Fox and Friends" Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018, that what Schaaf did was "no better than a gang lookout yelling 'police' when a police cruiser comes in the neighborhood." less File - In this Dec. 5, 2017 file photo, then Acting Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Thomas Homan takes a question from a reporter at a Department of Homeland Security news conference in ... more Photo: Andrew Harnik, Associated Press Photo: Andrew Harnik, Associated Press Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close After spokesman quits in protest, ICE ‘can’t put a number’ on missed arrests 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Tuesday that they “can’t put a number on how many targets avoided arrest” because of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s public warning before an operation, confirming the complaints of an ICE spokesman who resigned over what he saw as false assertions by officials.

ICE’s spokesman in San Francisco, James Schwab, told The Chronicle Monday that he quit in frustration over statements by ICE chief Thomas Homan and Attorney General Jeff Sessions that 800 people had eluded the agency due to Schaaf. Schwab said that based on his understanding, the number had to be far lower.

The mayor’s Feb. 24 warning came on the eve of a four-day Northern California immigration sweep that netted 232 arrests and was designed to counter California’s pro-immigrant sanctuary laws.

Liz Johnson, an ICE spokeswoman, said in a written statement that “we disagree with Mr. Schwab on this issue.” But at the same time, she verified his main contention by saying the agency “can’t put a number” on missed arrests.

“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.”

A spokeswoman for Sessions did not directly address the assertion that 800 people got away thanks to Schaaf, but ripped the mayor’s warning.

“Does anyone seriously dispute that the mayor attempted to thwart the efforts of federal law enforcement to apprehend wanted aliens in Oakland — many of whom had previously been arrested or convicted for crimes ranging from drug trafficking to domestic abuse to child pornography?” said the Justice Department spokeswoman, Sarah Isgur Flores. “But if anyone wants to have a public argument over precisely how many dangerous criminal aliens eluded arrest because of the mayor’s irresponsible actions, we are happy to have that debate.”

According to the ICE spokeswoman, though, the number is not known.

Schwab, who was hired in 2015 and resigned last week, told The Chronicle he had wanted the agency to correct the assertion that 800 people had escaped because of Schaaf, and didn’t want to deflect media questions about it.

“I quit because I didn’t want to perpetuate misleading facts,” Schwab said. “I asked them to change the information. I told them that the information was wrong, they asked me to deflect, and I didn’t agree with that. Then I took some time and I quit.”

The focus of Schwab’s concern were statements by Trump administration officials that shifted. On the third day of the Northern California operation, Homan said, “864 criminal aliens and public safety threats remain at large in the community, and I have to believe that some of them were able to elude us thanks to the mayor’s irresponsible decision.”

The next day, Homan went further, saying, “There’s 800 that we are unable to locate because of that warning, so that community is a lot less safe than it would have been.”

On March 7, Sessions said in a speech in Sacramento that he had learned from Homan that “ICE failed to make 800 arrests that they would have made if the mayor had not acted as she did. Those are 800 wanted aliens that are now at large in that community.”

A day after that, President Trump said ICE had been prepared to arrest “close to 1,000 people” before Schaaf’s warning.

That same day, though, Homan said in an appearance on Fox News that “many criminal aliens were not apprehended because of that warning. I can’t put a specific number on it.”

Schaaf praised Schwab’s action, saying, “I commend Mr. Schwab for speaking the truth while under intense pressure to lie. Our democracy depends on public servants who act with integrity and hold transparency in the highest regard.”

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said in a statement that “this administration has a deeply troubling track record of half-truths, false statements and outright lies aimed at demonizing and scapegoating immigrant families. I commend this individual for refusing to perpetuate misleading information.”