REDWOOD CITY and EAST PALO ALTO, California — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained two people in targeted arrests on Thursday morning, October 22, 2026 — one in Redwood City and one in East Palo Alto — according to Faith in Action Bay Area, which manages the San Mateo County Rapid Response Hotline, in reporting by Palo Alto Online on October 22 and by the M-A Chronicle. The two outlets said the detentions were the first confirmed ICE action in Redwood City, East Palo Alto, Atherton or Menlo Park since August of last year.
Source: Palo Alto Online (San Mateo County Rapid Response Hotline)
In Redwood City, ICE arrested a person at about 9:20 a.m. near the intersection of Ebener Street and Poplar Avenue, in the Palm Park neighbourhood, according to the hotline's social media, reported by both outlets. Faith in Action Bay Area verified that the person was arrested as part of a targeted search and said ICE did not raid the scene or detain people indiscriminately in the street, the M-A Chronicle reported.
Source: M-A Chronicle (Faith in Action Bay Area)
In East Palo Alto, a person was detained at about 11:15 a.m. outside Cardenas Market. The hotline said the arrest was targeted at a specific person, that ICE did not raid or camp out at the location, and that ICE was no longer present at the market, Palo Alto Online reported. The hotline made contact with the detained person's family within 15 or 20 minutes, and East Palo Alto Mayor Webster Lincoln also confirmed the arrest via Instagram on Thursday, the M-A Chronicle reported. The East Palo Alto family declined to release more information about their legal assistance or the detainee's current location, Palo Alto Online reported. Neither outlet named either detained person.
Source: Palo Alto Online and M-A Chronicle (Mayor Webster Lincoln)
Faith in Action Bay Area said it contacted both detainees and their families to provide legal support and resources, the M-A Chronicle reported. The last verified ICE arrests in East Palo Alto were on August 25, 2025, when a woman who was arrested suffered a medical emergency and was taken to Stanford Hospital and was later released from custody, both outlets reported. The M-A Chronicle also reported, as wider Bay Area context, that ICE detained two people in San Mateo on Tuesday and three people in the East Bay last week.