As immigrant raids by federal agents have ramped up this year, Bay Area residents have sought assurances from city governments and local law enforcement agencies that they will not cooperate with these efforts. Mayor Barbara Lee, for example, has reaffirmed that Oakland is a sanctuary city, which bars police from cooperating with ICE and prohibits contracts with companies that work with the agency.
However, Bay Area transit agencies, including BART — which has its own police force — set their own policies and define their own relationships with federal authorities.
In August, FEMA’s Transportation Security Grant program invited transit agencies to apply for large grants to help protect the public from “acts of terrorism.” But there were strings attached…