Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained two people on the Midpeninsula on the morning of Thursday, Oct. 22, according to Faith in Action Bay Area, which runs San Mateo County's immigration rapid response network.
What happened
The first arrest happened around 9:20 a.m. at Ebener Street and Poplar Avenue in Redwood City's Palm Park neighborhood. Faith in Action said it was a targeted arrest. ICE did not carry out a raid or detain people at random on the street, and agents had left by the time the arrest was confirmed.
Around 11:15 a.m., a caller reported ICE outside Cardenas Market in East Palo Alto. The hotline confirmed that a person had been detained there, also in a targeted operation, and said it reached the family within 15 to 20 minutes. The family declined to share more about the person's legal help or where they are being held. East Palo Alto Mayor Webster Lincoln also confirmed the arrest on Instagram, the M-A Chronicle reported.
Why it matters
According to the M-A Chronicle, these were the first confirmed ICE actions in Redwood City, East Palo Alto, Atherton or Menlo Park since August 2025. That month, a woman was arrested in East Palo Alto, had a medical emergency, and was taken to Stanford Hospital. She was later released from custody.
The M-A Chronicle reports that the arrests come amid a perceived increase in ICE's presence in the Bay Area. The M-A Chronicle noted that ICE detained two people in San Mateo two days earlier. Elsewhere, in Alameda County, at least eight people have been detained since Oct. 16; see our report on those arrests.
What families can do
Faith in Action says its team is giving the families legal support and other help. The group asks anyone who sees possible ICE activity to report it to the county's rapid response hotline, listed on Faith in Action Bay Area's website, so operators can check whether an arrest really happened. The network also posts when reports of raids turn out to be false, to keep rumors from spreading.