While the undated flyers claiming ICE raids are happening in SF “tomorrow” have been debunked, a real January 26 report on ICE agents’ location in San Jose has brought an investigation from Trump’s FCC.

We have recently seen false reports of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents promoted by the SF Unified School District superintendent, but we’ve also seen reports about ICE agents in SF that apparently were correct. So it’s understandable that peoples’ heads are spinning in light of a series of online flyers claiming that ICE raids were coming to SF “tomorrow at 1:30” (though the flyers are undated), though the Chronicle reports the flyers are bogus and false.

KQED has tracked down a copy of the false info flyer, which is seen above, and it’s been in circulation for at least four days. There are a few tells that it’s bogus. It’s presented as if it’s on official US Department of Homeland Security letterhead, though as the Chronicle notes, ICE would not announce their raids in advance. Moreover, it has a purported “signature” from President Trump, which is clearly a computer font, and looks nothing like Trump’s actual signature.

The flyer warns of ICE raids at not only SF’s Stonestown Galleria, but also Daly City’s Westlake Shopping Center, and three schools in San Mateo County.

Jefferson Elementary School District, which includes two of those schools named, sent an email to families in the district. "If ICE were ever to come to one of our schools, please know that they would not be granted access to students or their information unless they present a valid warrant,” Superintendent Sandy Mikulik said in the email. “In such a situation, district leadership and legal counsel would immediately assess the appropriate response."

SF’s La Raza Community Resource Center executive director Gabriel Medina explained to KQED how these false claims help stoke the fear that Trump is hoping for in sanctuary cities.

“We all have to take a little bit of a deep breath when we hear any of these calls and assess them,” he told the station. “We’re all impacted by it, but we also have to keep in mind who we represent, who we’re fighting for, and make sure to verify and give out good information and be extra careful and understand the impact of any information we share.”

But KQED also reports that an accurate January 26 KCBS radio report on real ICE activities in San Jose has brought an investigation from Trump’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC).    

The LA Times has some of the exact words spoken on that radio report. “The County’s Response Network says agents in San Jose were in unmarked vehicles,” the KCBS Radio Weekend News host said, then describing that the agents were in a black Dodge Durango, a gray Nissan Maxima, and some form of white Nissan truck, per other CBS news reports, while describing their location. “Stay with KCBS, we’ll be tracking it for you.”

FCC chair Brendan Carr took to Fox News to complain, "This is really concerning, so what happened was you had ICE agents undercover doing operations in East San Jose, part of the town known for violent gang activity, and you had this radio station broadcasting the live location, identifying the unmarked vehicles that they were in."

First Amendment advocates rightly point out the irony of people who claim to support free speech opposing accurate news reports.

“Law enforcement operations, immigration or otherwise, are matters of public interest,” First Amendment Coalition legal director David Loy told KQED. “People generally have the right to report this on social media and in print and so on. So it’s very troubling because it’s possible the FCC is potentially being weaponized to crack down on reporting that the administration simply just doesn’t like.”

The Wingnustosphere is turning this into an attack on left-leaning investor George Soros, as KCBS is owned by Audacy. This past September, Soros Fund Management bought a bunch of Audacy’s debt in exchange for Audacy stock. So I suppose there is a whiff of truth to calling KCBS a “Soros-Funded Radio Station.” But the winguts only know this bit of information because of, you know, media outlets using their First Amendment rights to accurately reporting on things that actually happen.

Related: SFUSD Superintendent Fuels False Rumor About ICE Agent on Muni Bus [SFist]

Image: NEW YORK CITY - JANUARY 28: In this handout photo provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the New York City Fugitive Operations Team conducted targeted enforcement operations resulting in the arrest of an illegal Dominican national on January 28, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via Getty Images)