Oakland, CA Immigration Policy: Sanctuary Policy Preemption (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted
- Ord. No. 13540, June 4, 2019
- Applies to
- City departments/agencies, not the Port
- Covered services
- Data broker, extreme vetting, detention facilities
- Civil penalty
- Up to $1,000 per violation
- False declaration
- Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine
- Compliance report due
- May 1 annually to Privacy Advisory Commission
- Waiver appeal window
- 30 days to Administrator, 15 more to Council
Summary
Oakland bars the city from signing, renewing, or amending contracts with any vendor that supplies ICE, CBP, or HHS's Office of Refugee Resettlement with data-broker, extreme-vetting, or immigration-detention-facility services, and bars city investment in those companies. Waivers require a written finding that no compliant alternative exists, under Municipal Code Chapter 2.23, the Sanctuary City Contracting and Investment Ordinance.
A. General Prohibition. The City shall not enter into a new contract or amend or extend an existing contract with any contractor that provides Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), or the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement (HHS/ORR) with any "data broker," "extreme vetting," or "detention facilities" services, as defined in Section 2.23.020. ... B. Exception and Waiver. The prohibition on contracting with firms that that provide ICE, CBP, or HHS/ORR with data broker, extreme vetting, or detention facilities services, may be waived by the City Council or City Administrator for purchases within their respective contracting authorities by determining that no reasonable alternative exists.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 102 | Planning Code: Supplement 59).
Full Breakdown
23, the Sanctuary City Contracting and Investment Ordinance (Ord. No. 13540, adopted June 4, 2019), reaches every city department, agency, bureau, and subordinate division, but not the Port of Oakland. 020. The ban sweeps in professional services such as financial, engineering and IT consulting, construction and public works, and software, hardware or cloud-computing purchases. 030(B) lets the City Council or City Administrator waive it only on a written finding that no qualified compliant bidder exists, that an emergency endangering public health or safety leaves no compliant provider available, that switching vendors is cost-prohibitive, that the contractor has already stopped providing the covered services, or that the ban conflicts with other law.
Every city solicitation must disclose the prohibition, and before award a contractor must sign a declaration under penalty of perjury that it does not provide the covered services; the City Administrator can also rely on published reports, other public agencies, or verified public tips to make that determination, and a contractor found non-compliant gets written notice and can appeal first to the City Administrator, then to the City Council. 040 extends the identical ban to city investments in companies that supply ICE, CBP, or HHS/ORR those services, with periodic monitoring for compliance.
050 requires the City Administrator to certify compliance every April 1 and deliver a public compliance report to the Privacy Advisory Commission by May 1, covering any violations found, their causes, and the steps taken to fix them.
Violations & Fines
Any willful or intentional violation lets a private person sue for injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or a writ of mandate, after first filing a claim with the City under Government Code § 905. If the City is found liable, a court can award actual damages plus a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, weighing whether the breach was willful and any prior violations. A contractor or officer who knowingly submits a false compliance declaration under Section 2.23.030(D)(1)(c) separately commits a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine, and must indemnify the City for claims arising from that false declaration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Oakland's sanctuary ordinance stop city employees from talking to ICE?
Can the City ever contract with a company covered by the ban?
What happens if a contractor lies about not doing ICE-related work?
Who enforces Chapter 2.23?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Oakland
California rules heatmap·Compare Oakland to another location·View the California immigration policy overview
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Sanctuary Policy Preemption in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle sanctuary policy preemption.