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With less than one week before President-elect Donald J. Trump returns to the White House, local leaders and human rights advocates are bracing for what could be the “largest mass deportation campaign” in U.S. history. The anticipated crackdown on immigration enforcement has triggered panic in undocumented communities, fueling rampant misinformation on social media and false reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sweeps in dozens of California cities, including Eureka.

A post making the rounds on social media claims ICE “showed up at Winco in Eureka” on Monday and “started doing a raid/making arrests of customers.” Other posts have claimed federal immigration officials are “actively conducting raids” at local shopping centers. None of the reports proved to be true.

“We do not have any evidence to support that ICE was in fact in town over the past two days conducting any enforcement action,” Humboldt County Sheriff spokesperson Meghan Ruiz wrote in an emailed response to the Outpost’s inquiry. Ruiz added that federal immigration officials do not notify the sheriff’s office when they’re in town due to Humboldt’s Sanctuary Ordinance, a voter-approved measure that prohibits local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with ICE.

Centro del Pueblo, a local nonprofit community service group, called out the false reports in a recent Instagram post and asked their followers to avoid repeating rumors. 

“Town Center Watchers and organized community went to Winco, Costco, Walmart, Target and all Valley East/west hotels, Blue Lake casinos and Loleta today … and confirmed with workers of these places that ICE DID NOT HAVE ACTIVITY TODAY IN HUMBOLDT IN THESE PLACES,” the translated post states. “HELP US KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE AND INFORMED.”

Reached for additional comment, Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo urged community members to verify information before sharing it on social media. “Please, only share information if it’s accurate and you can determine the source,” Arroyo told the Outpost. “There is a broad concern that some of this may be coming from a place of urging people to self-deport or trying to frighten people into taking similar actions that are based on fear.”

While local and state sanctuary laws limit cooperation with ICE, federal agents can still conduct immigration enforcement. Humboldt’s ordinance notes that sanctuary laws “do not prevent undocumented immigrants from being prosecuted for criminal activity, and state and federal laws address the situation of serious, criminal offenders.”

With that in mind, Arroyo encouraged community members to read the local ordinance — linked here — to understand what it can and cannot do.

The Humboldt County Human Rights Commission’s Sanctuary Ordinance Standing Committee will host a virtual public meeting at 5 p.m. on Thursday to discuss the status of the local sanctuary ordinance and what protections it may offer undocumented residents. 

“Right now, our hope is to provide people with information,” Committee Chair Guy Arnoff told the Outpost in a recent phone interview. “I think that will give us the kick we need to make sure that we’re looking into the right things and that our local authorities are upholding the sanctuary ordinance as much as they’re allowed to.”

“I can’t speak for everybody on our committee, but I don’t want people to be scapegoat immigrant communities and I don’t want people to feel like they’re alone,” he added. 

The committee will consider sending a letter to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors and local law enforcement agencies “urging cautious compliance.” Several local officials will be available to answer questions, including Humboldt District Attorney Stacey Eads, members of the Board of Supervisors and a representative of the sheriff’s office. 

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The Sanctuary Ordinance Standing Committee will meet virtually at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 16. You can find a copy of the agenda and remote viewing/participation instructions at this link.