The Alameda City Council voted unanimously on Oct. 6 to have staff draft rules barring the use of city-owned property for civil immigration enforcement, and heard final results from the city's two-year guaranteed income experiment.
Limits on city property
City Manager Gerry Beaudin laid out three options: reaffirming Alameda's 2017 sanctuary city resolution, adopting a resolution barring city property and facilities from being used for civil immigration enforcement, and cataloging city properties while requiring staff to document and report requests tied to ICE. He noted that Alameda County has declared its own properties off limits, Oakland bars staging enforcement on city land, and Berkeley limits city property to city purposes.
Councilmember Tony Daysog, who brought the referral, moved to pursue all three, and the motion passed 5-0. Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft supported it but noted the limits of local action, since federal land such as Coast Guard Island and parts of Alameda Point is outside city control. She asked staff to also look at zoning restrictions on city-controlled land at Alameda Point, which was folded into the motion. Beaudin said local officers would explain city policy to federal agents but would not intervene in enforcement.
What $1,000 a month did
Rise Up Alameda paid 150 low-income households $1,000 a month with no strings from December 2023 through November 2025, using $4.6 million in federal pandemic relief money. The city drew 2,368 applications, picked recipients by lottery and tracked 180 other applicants as a comparison group.
After 24 months, 35% of recipients said they had $500 in savings, compared with 12% of the comparison group, and 16% reported going into debt versus 27%. Recipients reported less psychological distress, and researchers found no drop in how much people worked. The pilot did not, however, produce consistent gains in housing or food security, and city staff have said there is no funding lined up for a second round.
A celebration of the program on Oct. 13 will include former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs. The council also advanced a 37-month lease at Alameda Point for Longshot Space Technologies, with a 60-day termination clause so the city can still build the planned De-Pave Park.