SAN FRANCISCO, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Officials of two San Francisco Bay Area cities on Saturday urged U.S. President Donald Trump to carry out immigration reform after he put off scheduled raids on thousands of immigrant families, local media reported.
Sam Liccardo, Mayor of San Jose, one of the sanctuary cities in the Bay Area, told the city's Mercury News daily that wide-ranging reform is needed to improve the nation's immigration system.
"We'll achieve the comprehensive immigration reform that our nation critically needs when we elect a President more interested in solutions than scare tactics," Liccardo tweeted Saturday.
His statement came after Trump announced a two-week delay of the proposed raid on illegal immigrants scheduled to start on Sunday in 10 U.S. cities.
Trump tweeted that the postponement was intended to see if Republican and Democratic lawmakers can "get together and work out a solution" to the controversial sweeps on about 2,000 migrant families facing deportation orders.
Media reported on Friday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has planned to kick off predawn raids on Sunday, which has prompted pushback from Democrats and some mayors in the Bay Area.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf told the news outlet that she applauded any effort to fix the "broken and inhumane immigration system" in the country.
"We value families and due process. The current implementation of our immigration laws isn't consistent with those values," she said.
The president "is playing a cruel political game with the lives of children and families. As long as he keeps threatening our beloved immigrant community, Oakland will continue to prepare -- we know our rights and values," she tweeted Saturday.
"Delay is welcome. Time is needed for comprehensive immigration reform," tweeted Nancy Pelosi, Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, who represents California's 12th congressional district, which includes much of San Francisco.
In February, ICE sent some 2,000 letters to families who already had received final orders of removal by courts in absentia, asking them to self-report to local ICE offices by March to comply with the orders, U.S. media reported.
Once arrests take place, the families will likely be moved to ICE family residential detention centers as the agency works with consulates to obtain travel documents, according to the reports.
