AC Transit sought a $523,000 security grant - in exchange for ICE cooperation

"Yesterday, AC Transit staff quietly removed an agenda item from tonight's meeting of the agency's board. Staff had requested approval for a $523,000 grant application to the Department of Homeland Security for funds to cover additional law enforcement personnel. "No disadvantages," to the proposal, the staff report read. Yet the grant, according to a federal notice, may have required the agency's involvement in "border crisis response and enforcement support.""

"In the wake of Monday's Supreme Court decision allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a DHS agency, to stop people based on their race, language, or appearance to fulfill its immigration arrest quota, the grant risked impacting many of AC Transit's 160,000 daily riders. The Transit Security Grant Program posted its Notice of Funding Opportunity on August 1. According to an AC Transit staff report, the agency would have received $523,000 over three years to cover overtime costs for security provided by the Alameda County Sheriff."

AC Transit staff removed a board agenda item after seeking approval for a $523,000 Department of Homeland Security grant to cover additional law enforcement personnel. The federal notice for the Transit Security Grant Program suggested grantees may need to participate in "border crisis response and enforcement support" and to engage in information sharing with ICE, including support with detentions. The grant would fund overtime for Alameda County Sheriff security over three years. Berkeley's mayor, other elected officials, and transit advocates raised alarms about potential collaboration with federal immigration enforcement. The grant risked affecting AC Transit's approximately 160,000 daily riders and raised civil rights concerns.

Read at The Oaklandside