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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents reportedly targeted a residential complex in Mountain View on Sunday, Jan. 26, less than a week after President Donald Trump took office.
The Mountain View Police Department told the Voice that it had been informed at 8:15 a.m. on Jan. 26 that ICE agents would be in Mountain View on Calderon Avenue that day. A police spokesperson said they did not have more information about the immigration enforcement, as they were not involved in the operation.
ICE did not respond to requests for information about its activities in Mountain View.
A Mountain View resident told the Voice that immigration authorities raided a condominium on Calderon Avenue on Jan. 26. It is unknown if individuals were detained at that time, according to the source.
In an update posted on X, ICE said it had made 956 arrests in the U.S. on Jan. 26, with many media outlets reporting in the days following that there had been raids targeting immigrant communities in major U.S. cities.
This is not the first time that the agency has come to Mountain View to enforce the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants. In 2017, ICE raided an apartment building on Escuela Avenue and detained a young man. A month later, two more people were arrested as part of a federal sweep that had targeted Bay Area cities. In 2019, ICE detained a Mountain View fruit vendor outside his home.
Last November, the Mountain View Police Department issued a statement saying it would not participate in federal immigration sweeps or detain or arrest anyone based on their citizenship. MVPD also does not ask for the immigration status of crime victims, witnesses or other individuals who contact them for help, according to the statement.
However, MVPD has interacted with ICE agents and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in investigations involving significant criminal activity like firearms smuggling, according to the statement.
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With social media and the mainstream media reports the words sweep and raid are being used incorrectly. In reality, Immigration and Naturalization Service is attempting to clear a backlog of removal warrants of those that have been issued by the judicial branch. They do not have nor do they conduct random sweeps. Those that are spreading that type of information are speculating or attempting to invoke fear.
The agency doesn’t have the manpower to complete a “sweep” to randomly check immigration status and their systems are not at a capacity to even verify citizenship.
The Immigration agency says it arrested 956 people nationwide on Sunday, 1,179 on Monday, and more than 3,400 since the change of the administration one week ago. That is a low number.
Department of Homeland Security data collected over the last 20 years shows immigrant removals spiked at 432,000 in 2013 under President Obama.
In his busiest year, President Trump oversaw 347,000 in 2019.
The Biden Administration removed 329,000 immigrants in 2024, the most of his term.
So the agents that were on Calderon more than likely found their one person or struck out. The only spin off is when they find their person they had the warrant on they interview those that person was hiding with. That could lead to future deportations if their name is on a pending list.
It will probably be more frequent occurrence with the use of ALPR’s now.
One would have to know that a person with a warrant was driving a certain vehicle for Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) to be part of this conversation. Most criminals do not have their vehicle registered to themselves making the use of the system less likely. But nice try in keeping your displeasure opinion in the use of them going.