California unveiled an online portal to report potentially illegal activity by federal law enforcement, including ICE agents, to the state Department of Justice.

by Roselyn Romero Dec. 3, 2025 (Oaklandside.org)

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If you witness abuses by federal law enforcement agents in California, you can now report it online to the state Department of Justice.

On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the launch of an online portal where anyone can report potentially unlawful activity in California by federal law enforcement, including officers or agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, or federalized National Guard soldiers or airmen.

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Intended to help state officials track wrongdoing by federal authorities, the website allows California residents to submit images, videos, and a detailed complaint about the alleged wrongdoing.

“Federal agents have broad authority to enforce federal laws, including federal immigration laws, but they must do so lawfully,” the governor’s press office wrote in a statement announcing the rollout.

“We’re not going to stand by while anyone — including federal agents — abuses their authority in California,” said Newsom in a press release. “No one is above the law.”

Filing a report does not guarantee that the attorney general will take action on the complaint, officials said.

The announcement follows eleven months of controversy around the Trump administration’s use of federal agents in aggressive immigration crackdowns and crime-fighting operations, mostly in cities in Democratic-led states and regions.

In Chicago, federal immigration enforcement agents used riot control weapons, physical force, and other controversial tactics on residents during immigration raids, prompting a judge to issue an order severely restricting agents’ use of force. In Los Angeles, federal law enforcement racially profiled Latino residents and conducted “roving patrols” as part of an immigration crackdown. And in New York City, an ICE agent was captured on video grabbing a woman outside an immigration courtroom and slamming her to the ground. The use of masks by ICE agents has also faced widespread criticism, and California leaders passed a law earlier this year banning the use of masks by federal officers to conceal their identities.

The Bay Area has also seen federal agents use force against protesters and engage in aggressive immigration operations.

In October, the Trump administration announced it was sending federal troops, including CBP agents, to Coast Guard Island in Alameda as part of an immigration enforcement “surge” operation in the Bay Area. At a protest outside the island, a CBP agent shot an East Bay pastor in the face with a chemical weapon during a protest outside of Coast Guard Island. It’s unclear if the incident is being investigated by any state or federal authorities.

And last month, ICE agents chased a man near a West Oakland elementary school, leading to a car crash and complaints from neighbors who said the agents acted recklessly.

Examples of misconduct listed on the California DOJ’s online portal include voting intimidation, warrantless searches or arrests, unlawful detentions, excessive force, and civil rights violations.

Roselyn Romero

roselyn@oaklandside.org

Roselyn Romero covers public safety for The Oaklandside. She was previously The Oaklandside’s small business reporter as a 2023-24 Poynter-Koch Media & Journalism Fellow. Before joining the team, she was an investigative intern at NBC Bay Area and the inaugural intern for the Global Investigations team of The Associated Press through a partnership with the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting. She graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2022 with a bachelor’s in journalism and minors in Spanish, ethnic studies, and women’s & gender studies. She is a proud daughter of Filipino immigrants and was born and raised in Oxnard, California.More by Roselyn Romero

by Io Yeh Gilman December 2, 2025 (MissionLocal.org)

The plan to upzone San Francisco’s western and northern neighborhoods passed the Board of Supervisors 7-4 on Tuesday after a long, contentious process. 

Voting in the affirmative were supervisors Stephen Sherrill, Danny Sauter, Alan Wong, Bilal Mahmood, Matt Dorsey, Myrna Melgar and Raphael Mandelman. Dissenting votes came from Connie Chan, Jackie Fielder, Shamann Walton and Chyanne Chen.

Developers can now build up to six or eight stories on most streets with businesses or public transportation, as long as the new building has at least one more unit than whatever was there before. Before the upzoning, developers were limited to four stories in most of the rezoned areas. 

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A few larger streets, including Geary Boulevard, Van Ness Avenue, and Market Street will allow buildings up to 65 stories. 

Map at: https://missionlocal.org/2025/12/sf-upzoning-passes-board/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newspack%20Newsletter%20%28799924%29&utm_source=05b141c840&utm_source=Mission+Local&utm_campaign=ca55721966-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_12_03_09_59&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-ca55721966-220975212&mc_cid=ca55721966&mc_eid=a503763a9b

It is the first upzoning on the Westside since the area was downzoned in 1978. Since then, most of San Francisco’s new development has been concentrated in the city’s eastern neighborhoods, like the Mission, Potrero Hill, SoMa and Mission Bay, which were rezoned in 2009.

San Francisco’s downtown and nearby areas like Rincon Hill were also rezoned beginning in 1985, but contained fairly tall buildings to begin with. 

In addition to building taller, developers can also now build as many units as they want per property, so long as they don’t exceed height and space restrictions. 

Not all buildings in the city’s northern and western neighborhoods will be covered by the new zoning. Any rent-controlled buildings with three or more units were removed from the plan earlier by an amendment written by Supervisor Myrna Melgar.

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman also removed buildings that had achieved historical landmark status. 

Proponents of the plan have argued that rezoning the city’s western and northern neighborhoods will help address rising housing prices in San Francisco, which have jumped dramatically since the 1980s. 

“A vote against the family zoning plan is a vote for the status quo, and it is a privilege to be okay with the status quo,” Sauter said. 

The status quo, Mahmood added, “forces many of the very people who make this city work … to commute from dozens or hundreds of miles away in substandard housing. We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results.”

“Our Family Zoning plan will allow us to build more homes so that kids growing up here will one day be able to raise their own families in San Francisco,” Mayor Daniel Lurie wrote in a statement. “This city’s affordability crisis has left too many young people, workers, and seniors unsure if they’ll be able to stay in the place they love.”

But dissenting supervisors argued that taller height limits would incentivize developers to displace tenants and small businesses, changing the character of San Francisco’s neighborhoods. 

“Developing housing that people can afford without displacing residents and small businesses” is possible, Chen said. “But the plan that is before us does not achieve that.” 

“Let’s build, and also let’s do no harm to existing San Franciscans,” she added. 

The city didn’t decide to rezone on its own accord; the state mandated this move by strengthening enforcement of California’s housing element. 

Every eight years, the state of California assigns local jurisdictions a certain number of housing units they need to build, also known as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation. This cycle, San Francisco’s assignment increased from 28,000 units to 82,000 units, due to a law written by state Sen. Scott Wiener.

But under existing zoning, San Francisco was only expected to build 58,000 units. With a 15 percent buffer, that was 36,000 fewer units than the state demanded. 

To remedy the situation, the state required San Francisco to produce capacity for those additional 36,000 units, or risk ceding control over approval of new housing projects to the state, and potentially losing millions in state funding for housing and transportation. 

The imperative was used to justify limiting the changes that supervisors could make to amend the plan. 

Nevertheless, at Tuesday’s board meeting, Chan made a Hail Mary attempt to amend the plan to exclude all rent-control-eligible buildings, not just ones with three or more units.

“I am disappointed that we are not choosing a path to figure out a way to either negotiate or, frankly, even fight some of these mandates,” Chan said. 

Ultimately it was voted down, with dissenting supervisors arguing that the place for amendments was during the four earlier committee hearings preceding today’s vote. At this late stage, changes could not be made to offset the capacity taken away by the amendment.

“I believe any attempts to make amendments at this point are more political rather than serious in nature,” Sauter said. Chan is currently running for Congress against Sen. Scott Wiener.  

Even with the new upzoning plan, the number of units built will likely fall far short of the goal. A report by the city’s chief economist, Ted Egan, found that the amount of additional market-rate housing built under upzoning would be between 8,500 and 14,600 units over 20 years. 

Market-rate housing development is also affected by economic factors including taxes, rents, and interest rates, and those factors are not currently favorable for housing development. 

The rezoning, Supervisor Melgar said, will not, on its own, “solve our housing crisis or our affordability crisis.”

“But it is a necessary step,” she said.

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Supervisor Alan Wong rose in politics through unions. Now, he’s on thin ice.

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Io Yeh Gilman

io@missionlocal.com

REPORTER. Io is a staff reporter covering city hall as a part of Report for America, which supports journalists in local newsrooms. She was born and raised in San Francisco and previously reported on the city while working for her high school newspaper, The Lowell. Io studied the history of science at Harvard and wrote for The Harvard Crimson.More by Io Yeh Gilman

By Adrienne Fong

Am not posting on a regular basis

 RESOURCES:

 STAY UPDATED WITH BAY RESISTANCE and get plugged to actions you can support, text “Resist” to 888-850-0928

GI HOTLINE (877) 477-4497

  – Share this number to people who know active duty service members

There are events listed on Indybay that might be of interest to you(many listings in the South, North & East Bays and beyond the bay area)

Please post your actions on Indybay: https://www.indybay.org/calendar/?page_id=12

See list of Calendar of Events on Palestine from AROC: https://www.araborganizing.org/events/ 

   If your post is about Palestine you can also list your action on the AROC calendar

Bay Area Progressive Action Calendar

  ATW Bay Area / NorCal — Action Together West

ARTICLES

A. Israel to build wall deep inside West Bank that ‘accelerates annexation’ –December 3, 2025

Israel to build wall deep inside West Bank that ‘accelerates annexation’ | Middle East Eye

B. S.F. has largest backlog of immigration cases in California. Here’s why.

S.F. has the highest backlog of immigration cases in California

C. Military attorneys drop BAD NEWS for Pete Hegseth – November 29, 2025

Military attorneys drop BAD NEWS for Pete Hegseth

  See Petition # 3

D. Italy holds third general strike in three months, against war budget and for Palestine – November 29, 2025

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/11/29/italy-holds-third-general-strike-in-three-months-against-war-budget-and-for-palestine/

E. Alcatraz Commemoration: Where the Sacred Fire Burns for Sacred Land – November 28, 2025

Alcatraz Commemoration: Where the Sacred Fire Burns for Sacred Land : Indybay  

F. March for Mumia – UNITE TO FREE MUMIA & ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS

  – November 28 – December 9; A hundred mile march

    March started in Philadelphia on Nov. 28 and will end with a rally, December 9 at SCI Mahanoy Corrections Facility, 301 Morea Rd, Frackville, PA

For nearly half a century, communities across Philadelphia, the United States, and the International Community have stood strong in unwavering solidarity against a corrupt and racist system — demanding freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal and all political prisoners.

Mumia has been imprisoned for over 42 years, enduring medical neglect and facing serious health challenges. His case is not an isolated injustice — it is a mirror reflecting the systemic abuse, racial bias, and silencing of dissent that plague our prisons.

We March to demand:

Justice for our Elders  (and an end to medical neglect)
Justice for all Political Prisoners  (Free them all NOW!!!)
Justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal  (Bring Him Home NOW!!!)

Info: https://marchformumia.org/

  See Petition #1

7 PETITIONS

1. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner: Drop the Case Against Mumia Abu-Jamal

  SIGN: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/218/292/198/philadelphia-district-attorney-larry-krasner-drop-the-case-against-mumia-abu-jamal/

2. Block Trump’s weapons sale to Saudi Arabia

 SIGN:  Block Trump’s weapons sale to Saudi Arabia | Demand Progress 

3. Investigate Hegseth for war crimes and block war with Venezuela!

  SIGN: Investigate Hegseth for war crimes and block war with Venezuela! | Demand Progress

4. Members of Military Can and Must Disobey Illegal Orders

  SIGN: Members of Military Can and Must Disobey Illegal Orders

5. Bring Back the Flotilla Boats

  SIGN: https://action.eko.org/a/world-leaders-bring-back-the-fotilla-boats-1

6. Stop the Federal Cell Tower Takeover — Oppose H.R. 2289

  SIGN: Stop the Federal Cell Tower Takeover — Oppose H.R. 2289 • Children’s Health Defense 

7. Tell AG Bondi: NO Taxpayer money for Proud Boys

  SIGN: Tell AG Bondi: NO Taxpayer money for Proud Boys   

DECEMBER PETITIONS of SCHEDULED EXECUTIONS (Click on the name to sign)

December 9, 2025 at 6:00 pm ET:
Mark Geralds in Florida

December 11, 2025 at 10:00 am CT:
Harold Nichols in Tennessee

December 18, 2025 at 6:00 pm ET:
Frank Walls in Florida

EVENTS / ACTIONS

Thursday, December 4 – Wednesday, December 10

Thursday, December 4

1. Thursday, 11:00am – 12Noon, STOP Prologis Amazon Gateway Project Poisoning Our Community & Systemic Racism

Prologis World Headquarter
Pier 1
SF 

Rally Against Gateway Prologis Amazon Warehouse, NoMore Pollution & Poison In Hunters Point

Bad Deal For Hunters Point Residents and Workers & Systemic Racism in SFPUC And Corruption of CCSF

The billionaires have completely captured control of San Francisco. One of the billionaires now running San Francisco is Hamid Moghadam who is a crony of Mayor Daniel Lurie.

With the support of Lurie he is pushing the Gateway E-Commerce Amazon Project on Toland St. In the Bay View.

It will bring more than 6,000 trucks into the neighborhood, further polluting and poisoning the community. It will also allow union Amazon to occupy a new warehouse in San Francisco. Moghadam is known as Amazon’s landlord around the country and the world.

The new multi-billion dollar project has gotten a pass on environmental dangers and being a vehicle for techno-fascist Bezos to build a major non-union Amazon warehouse project in San Francisco. The Board Of Supervisors have also refused to even ask who the tenant will be and why billionaire Moghadam can’t build working class housing for the workers instead of forcing them to commute many hours.

The Navy, City and State continue to cover-up the dangerous contamination at the radioactive Hunters Point shipyard. Even though plutonium has been found in the outside air, residents and workers are only being offered $1200 which will not get them healthcare and money to move out to safer housing.

There is also a systemic racist frame-up going on at the SFPUC and other departments. At the SFPUC a laborer who is Samoan and his son along with another worker were framed up and fired because they raised health and safety issues.

They are demanding a full investigation against the corrupt manager Dennis Herrera and full return to work of the Laborers.

Initiated by All Thing Bayview, WorkWeek, United Front Committee For A Labor Party
allthingsbayview [at] allthingsbayview.org

Info: STOP Prologis Amazon Gateway Project Poisoning Our Community & Systemic Racism : Indybay

2. Thursday, 1:00pm – 3:00pm, UAW4123 SFSU Rally – Members Living in Poverty Despite Big Pay Increases for Bosses

Malcom X Plaza, San Francisco State College
SF 

SFSU UAW 4123 members will be rallying for a contract.

Cal State faculty criticize presidents’ hefty pay boost amid layoffs, budget shortfall
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/11/29/cal-state-faculty-criticize-presidents-hefty-pay-boost/
CSU trustees approved pay hikes and eliminated salary caps for the system’s top administrators
Molly Gibbs is a Bay Area News Group reporter.webp
By MOLLY GIBBS | mgibbs [at] bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: November 29, 2025 at 4:00 AM PST | UPDATED: November 29, 2025 at 11:44 AM PST

Top administrators across the California State University system will receive more than half a million dollars in pay raises in what trustees said is an effort to improve recruiting for executive-level candidates — but the policy change sparked outrage from faculty and staff who said it comes as they face “tsunamis” of layoffs.

Trustees approved pay hikes and eliminated salary caps for the system’s executive employees— presidents, vice chancellors and the system’s chancellor, Mildred García — last week after a pay analysis presented by the consulting firm Segal found that about 75% of comparable institutions pay executives more than CSU. The new executive compensation policy also includes a performance-based pay incentive up to 15% of the executive’s base salary, a more competitive retirement plan and increased housing allowances ranging from $60,000 to $80,000. 

The 22-campus university system said the previous policy — which capped president salaries at no more than 10% above the predecessor’s salary — prevented the system from offering competitive compensation and “significantly constrained” the CSU from recruiting candidatesand filling vacant positions. Currently, CSU has three presidential vacancies — CSU Long Beach, Channel Islands and Cal Poly Pomona  

But the policy change quickly sparked outrage across the state. Faculty and staff in the CSU system condemned the change, arguing it comes amid widespread layoffs, tuition increases and a staggering $2.3 billion budget shortfall. The system’s faculty union contended that most of the new compensation policy’s funds come directly from state funding and tuition dollars.

California Faculty Association president Margarita Berta-Ávila likened the pay boost to “(President Donald) Trump’s construction of a new ballroom while working people were unable to provide for their families during the shutdown” at the system’s board meeting last week.

Loren Cannon, CFA secretary and a lecturer at Cal Poly Humboldt, argued the pay increase for campus presidents comes at the expense of faculty and staff.    

Info: UAW4123 SFSU Rally – Members Living in Poverty Despite Big Pay Increases for Bosses : Indybay

Friday, December 5

3. Friday, 10:30am – 12Noon, Boycott Israel – It’s a Terrorist State – Save Gaza

Israel Consulate –
456 Montgomery Street
SF

Boycott Israel! Free Palestine! Arms Embargo Forever! Israel is a Rogue Terrorist Entity!

Join us at the Israel Consulate to rant at the Zionist murderers inside!

Bring your noisemakers and we will have soccer trumpets you can blow your rage into!

GRRR ! Israel – Stop Starving gaza! Stop Killing Children! Stop the War Crimes!

We want the Israel Consulate SHUT DOWN and banished from San Francisco.

Organized by R.A.T. — Radical Autonomous Tribe

Info: Boycott Israel – It’s a Terrorist State – Save Gaza : Indybay

Saturday, December 6

4. Saturday, 12Noon, BAY AREA SAYS – No War on Venezuela 

Civic Center BART Plaza
SF

stop the war before it starts!

The Trump administration is pushing the U.S. toward a catastrophic war on Venezuela: bypassing Congress, violating international law, and fabricating pretexts for intervention.

In a briefing yesterday, Trump promised land strikes in Venezuela would begin “very soon,” has called for its airspace to be “closed,” and terminated negotiations with Venezuela’s government. Missile strikes in the Caribbean and massive troop mobilizations show this is a full-scale regime change operation in motion.
But it is not too late to act! The majority in the U.S. oppose war. We must stop this war before it starts!

Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/DRzzi_ACWuy/ 

5. Saturday, 12Noon – 1:00pm, Women in Black Silent Vigil

Corner of Lake Park and Grand Avenues,
in front of the Grand Lake Theater
Oakland

Bay Area Women in Black have been standing in this spot for over 25 years. We dress in black, hold signs, and hand out material protesting the illegal occupation of Palestine and the ongoing genocide by the Israeli military government, supported by the US and the UN.

We maintain a dignified silence in our vigils. Designated participants can engage with passersby who wish to converse but we do not respond to hecklers.

We invite you to join us every first Saturday, from noon to one PM, in front of the Grand Lake Theater.

Info: Women in Black Silent Vigil : Indybay

6. Saturday, 12Noon – 2:00pm, Trump Regime Takedown (every Saturday)

corner of Van Ness and O’Farrell St
SF

We do not consent to Trump and his billionaire allies taking a chainsaw to our government and our economy for their benefit! San Francisco is a sanctuary city and We the People need to defend the values that make it so. Let’s stand united and oppose the endless assaults on our communities, our civil rights, the rule of law, and our democracy.

Keep democracy alive every Saturday by showing up, taking a stand, and sticking together for the long haul. Standing together is better than standing alone. Let’s get together and call out the Trump/MAGA regime as a community

What you can do:
• If you’ve got signs, flags, cardboard cutouts, or any protest visuals you want to make, bring ’em! We also have spare signs to lend.
• If you have whistles, drums, cowbells, or other noisemakers, bring ’em!
• Musicians are welcome and encouraged. 

Info: Trump Regime Takedown (every Saturday) : Indybay 

7. Saturday, 6:00pm – 8:30pm, Crushing Wheelchairs Film 

New Parkway Theater.
474 24th St
Oakland

EVENT IS SOLD OUT!!  (If you weren’t able to grab a ticket but still want to try to make it in, you are welcome to stand by at the theater in case seats become available. You’ll be put on a waiting list (first come, first served) and if ticket holders don’t show up by showtime, you can take their seat.)

CRUSHING WHEELCHAIRS is a powerful new social justice film that follows a group of poor people living in a homeless community as they struggle to find hope amid gentrification, domestic violence and the growing brutality of the State. Starring the talents of POOR Magazine—the prominent California arts and activism collective—this revolutionary film features a cast and crew of currently and formerly unhoused residents of the San Francisco Bay Area who brought their real-life stories to the screen.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/946860766?fl=pl&fe=sh
Runtime: 1h 56m

Info: Crushing Wheelchairs Film : Indybay

Sunday, December 7

8. Sunday, 10:00am – 6:00pm, The HOWARD ZINN Book Fair is Back! Fight Supremacy: Actions Against Authoritarianism

Community College of SF
Mission Campus
1125 Valencia Street
SF

If ever there was a time we needed to be reminded of the power of the people to resist tyranny, it is now. So the Howard Zinn Book Fair is returning on Sunday
With over 50 panel discussions by authors on social justice issues and a vendor room with more than 65 small presses, artists and community groups, the fair is intended to spotlight the thinking of renowned historian Howard Zinn who believed deeply in the power of the people to direct and to change their lives and their society if they chose to. At a time when the news seems relentlessly grim and our freedoms seem to be further curtailed every day, the Howard Zinn Book Fair reminds us there are many, many people doing so many great things to resist fascism and to change our world for the better.

The Zinn Book Fair is a celebration of The People’s History, the practice of telling “history from below” of workers, women, immigrants, racialized people, LGBTQIA2S+ people, dissidents and radicals. We bring together left authors, readers, organizers and community members to debate and discuss strategies for a better world.

Some of this year’s panelists include: Keith Knight, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Kim Stanley Robinson, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Dani Burlison, Charlie Jane Anders, Leroy F. Moore Jr., Dani Gabriel, Jenny Worley, AK Thompson, Ariel Gore and many others.

For more information: http://zinnbookfair.org

Info: The HOWARD ZINN Book Fair is Back! Fight Supremacy: Actions Against Authoritarianism : Indybay

9. Sunday, 1:00pm, Boycott Chevron Picket 

Temescal Chevron
5500 Telegraph Avenue
Telegraph & 55^th
Oakland

Monthly demo

Signs and chants will be provided. Bring your energy and tambourines!

Israel’s genocide machine couldn’t run without power from Chevron. Israel’s war on Gaza and Occupation of Palestine contributes to the climate catastrophe. Chevron supplies light and energy via its operation and co-ownership of two major Israeli-claimed fossil gas fields in the Mediterranean.

Chevron’s extraction activities are funneling millions of dollars in tax revenues to Israeli government coffers, directly fueling Israel’s system of settler colonialism and violence against all Palestinians. In 2022, those revenues amounted to over $462 million.
BDS is a global nonviolent Palestinian led movement, and we demand that Chevron immediately cut its contracts with genocidal Israel, and end its role in climate devastation globally.

Following in the tradition of the anti-apartheid gas station boycotts of the 60s & 70s, Palestinians and allies are building a global movement to hold Chevron accountable for its crimes through a coordinated boycott of Chevron gas stations and products around the world.

Info: Boycott Chevron Picket : Indybay

Monday, December 8 

10. Monday, 12:30pm – 1:30pm, No Monarchs Monday: Protest at Tesla in SF

At the Tesla Dealership,
999 Van Ness (corner of Van Ness and O’Farrell),
SF

No Monarchs Monday (the butterflies are ok).
Join us to stand up for democracy, civil liberties, and the planet, and against the fascist/authoritarian Trump Regime!
Bring a sign if you have one.
This is a peaceful protest.

Info: No Monarchs Monday: Protest at Tesla in SF : Indybay

11. Monday, 5:30pm (PT); 8:30pm (ET), “The Last Class”: Virtual Live Watchalong w/ Robert Reich, Professor Emeritus UC Berkeley

RSVP required (FREE): https://www.thelastclassfilm.com/live-watchalong

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qv6N3lRrzY

 FREE one-time-only live online watchalong of The Last Class film on Monday 

Professor Reich will be joining us to speak before and after the film, and provide some commentary while it plays. If you haven’t yet seen The Last Class, the illuminating film about Prof. Reich’s final semester of teaching—or even if you have—gather with friends for this special one-of-a-kind event!

We continue to prioritize in-person screenings, thrilled that the film is bringing people together.

Here’s what you need to know:

–The watchalong is Monday, December 8 at 5:30 pm PT / 8:30 pm ET.

–When you sign up you will be added to a special watchalong email list.

–The morning of Monday, December 8, you will receive an email with a YouTube link.

–At 5:30 pm PT/ 8:30 pm ET this link will go live with Prof. Reich, Heather, and Elliot.

–Bob, Heather, and Elliot will offer some live commentary during the film (71 mins).

–A short Q&A will follow.

NOTE: When the event ends, the link for the film will no longer be watchable.

Info: “The Last Class”: Virtual Live Watchalong w/ Robert Reich, Professor Emeritus UC Berkeley : Indybay 

Wednesday, December 10

International Human Rights Day

12. Wednesday, 5:30pm, INT’L HUMAN RIGHTS DAY: FIGHT US-BACKED FASCIST ATTACKS! END US-BACKED WAR CRIMES!

Union Square
SF

RSVP:  https://tinyurl.com/D10RSVP

On the brink of war with Venezuela and countless pre-emptive strikes against people around the world, rally with us!

December 10th has been designated by the UN as “International Human Rights Day” but this is meaningless in a world where the US-backed fascist attacks happen around the globe without repercussion. This IHRD, join a broad and united people’s movement to oppose the many US-backed atrocities & wars waged against peoples all across the world and intensified fascist attacks on communities here in the US.

Co-organizers: ICHRP-NorCal, @malayamovementsf @bayanusa.norcal , @ilps.norcal , @bayarea_cispes , Nodutdol, @haitiaction , @oilandgasactionnetwork , @dsa_sf , PRISM, @resistusledwarsfsu , @abfsu.msu

Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/DR0nugEj93D/

by Randy Shaw on December 1, 2025 (BeyondChron.org)

Ongoing 6th and Market evening drug market

Overdoses are down. Arrests are way up. Tents are way down. Treatment facilities have opened. A fentanyl emergency is in effect.

These are positive developments. But they do not change a core measuring stick for San Francisco in 2025: the lack of a noticeable reduction in sidewalk drug activities.

San Francisco has the most visible open-air drug markets of any major U.S. city. Day and night, hundreds of drug users sit on sidewalks. Newcomers steadily arrive. Young drug users flock to city sidewalks despite Mayor Lurie’s condemnation of drug tourism.

I understand why many want to promote San Francisco’s comeback. Mayor Lurie’s 70% approval reflects the optimism he promotes about the city’s future. I’m all for optimism. But treating statistics that have little to do with closing open air drug markets as if they do clouds the real story: Sidewalk drug use has been allowed to thrive in San Francisco for years.

Consider:

It’s been four years since Mayor Breed issued an Emergency Declaration for the Tenderloin.

It’s been nearly six years since COVID spawned drug-infested Shelter in Place (SIP) hotels. This misguided strategy invited drug tourists from across the nation to come to San Francisco for free rent, free meals, and a private bathroom. The nearby Pelosi Federal Building’s takeover by drug users and dealers soon followed.

Its been over seven years since the New York Times in 2018 exposed the huge drug scene on the northwest side of Eddy and Hyde in Tenderloin. Yet it looks the same today (See “San Francisco’s Oldest Drug Market Still Thrives,” November 3).

The 5th and Market Westfield Center, long home to Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s, has all but closed. The exciting new Whole Foods at 8th and Market and Turtle Tower in Little Saigon closed due to problems caused by nearby drug activities. Retail vacancies in these areas have soared.

Despite all the meetings, announcements, task forces, and pledges to do more,  drug-filled sidewalks in San Francisco remain. In November 2024 San Francisco elected a mayor who campaigned on a plan to close them. But even a mayor completely committed to this goal could not meaningful reduce public drug use in his first year.

Why, unlike other major cities, has San Francisco been unable to close its open-air drug markets?

Residents and small business owners in the Tenderloin, Mid-Market, lower Polk, SOMA, the Mission, and other areas daily impacted by sidewalk drug use  are especially frustrated. So are visitors to Market Street theaters, tourists staying in Central City hotels, and patrons of nearby restaurants, clubs, bars and cultural venues.

Few understand why San Francisco cannot protect its sidewalks.

Is there any reason to believe the situation will improve in 2026? Here’s what Mayor Lurie is doing and could be doing to end this crisis.

Too Few Officers

An obvious explanation for drug filled sidewalks is a police force missing 500 officers. Our incredibly committed District Attorney Brooke Jenkins prosecutes every drug case she gets but the the number of arrests cannot keep up with the influx of drug tourists. Police visibility deters drug activities. But for at least five years the police visibility necessary to close drug markets has been lacking.

Former SFPD Chief Bill Scott repeatedly told Tenderloin business people that he wouldn’t blame a lack of police for the area’s drug activities. That made the Breed Administration even more culpable.

Mayor Lurie takes a more honest approach. He’s made it clear that the SFPD struggles to provide the staffing residents and businesses need. His “Rebuilding the Ranks” strategy has increased police officers as well as deputy sheriffs; he’s also made it easier for retired officers to add to these numbers.

Lurie is also addressing the problem that arrests take officers off the streets for hours. His proposed sobering center at 444 Sixth Street will enable officers to make drug arrests and go right back on the street. Tenderloin activists addressed the issue of Station Transfers on a six month trial basis in 2014. It was expected to increase police officers in the neighborhood by 20%. Unfortunately, the pilot was not extended.

Mayor Lurie’s sobering center should save officers even more time. We will be closely monitoring its impact after it opens in March.

Mayor Lurie is trying multiple strategies. Not all work as hoped. He launched a crackdown on Sixth Street only to see the area’s drug activities resume after police operation ended. He extols medical treatment operations like that at 822 Geary Street while open air drug markets thrive a block away.

Providing medical treatment to those in drug crisis is essential. But there is no evidence such facilities help close nearby drug markets (and neighbors contend that the medical program at the Adante Hotel at 610 Geary has made drug activities in the area worse).

The city also continues to allow nonprofits to distribute drug paraphernalia to addicts. It’s a great way to fuel sidewalk drug use.

The mayor’s office also supported, via Interim Chief Paul Yep, the redistricting of Tenderloin Police Station. When it takes effect in June it will meaningfully increase police visibility in the Tenderloin.

But more is needed. To finally close drug markets Lurie should consider the original drug clearance strategy planned by Mayor Breed. We all had high hopes for this plan but Chief Scott refused to implement it.

The Original Drug Clearance Strategy

After declaring a Drug Emergency in the Tenderloin (Chief Scott added no officers so it failed), Mayor Breed brought in Urban Alchemy to help close drug markets. The strategy was clear: after the police cleared drug activities off a block, Urban Alchemy would maintain the block’s safety. This block by block strategy would soon cover all of the drug market blocks in the Tenderloin.

But Chief Scott’s SFPD did not want to collaborate with Urban Alchemy. Nor was the Chief willing to give the Tenderloin the police staffing needed for this strategy to succeed.

So after clearing a large swath of Tenderloin blocks—which remain clear to this day— Urban Alchemy was able to only barely expand in the neighborhood. When you look at the many blocks Urban Alchemy has cleared,  the SFPD’s failure to clear more blocks for Urban Alchemy’s expansion was a huge missed opportunity.

Instead of this systematic approach to closing drug markets the SFPD has pursued a “whack a mole” strategy where blocks are cleared for one to a few hours only to have the market return the same day. The lack of consistent police presence has brought the expected result: sidewalks remain filled with drug activities.

Why not implement the block by block closure strategy now? And not just for the Tenderloin but for Mid-Market, SOMA and other neighborhoods suffering with drug-filled sidewalks?

The Lurie Administration knows that closing drug markets requires more than isolated arrests. It knows that taking back blocks requires consistent action.

Can the city financially afford this strategy to close drug markets? I would say the city cannot afford not to do so.

San Francisco should not allow another year to pass without closing sidewalk drug markets.If City Hall doesn’t like the block by block strategy outlined above, let’s see an alternative that finally accomplishes this goal.

Randy Shaw

<I>Randy Shaw is the Editor of Beyond Chron and the Director of San Francisco’s Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which publishes Beyond Chron. Shaw’s new book is the revised and updated, The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco. His prior books include Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America. The Activist’s Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century, and Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century. </I>

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by Randy Shaw on December 1, 2025 (BeyondChron.org)

1993 flyer. What tenants faced prior to the BIC

Five city officials with no connection to tenant groups is trying to eliminate San Francisco’s most vital tenant protection body: the Building Inspection Commission (BIC). Minutes from a recent meeting of the Streamlining Committee reflect the group’s profound ignorance regarding the BIC’s powers and mission. The Streamlining Committee (hereafter “the Committee) does not understand what the BIC does nor, more importantly, what it is supposed to do.

The Committee was created by Prop E in the November 2024 election. Prop E was the reform alternative to Prop D, which sought to eliminate dozens of commissions and strengthen mayoral power. Voters rejected Prop D, favoring Prop E’s plan for a committee to carefully assess what reforms to the commission system were necessary.

Unfortunately, the Prop E committee has ignored input from  groups affected by potential changes. As a result, the Board of Supervisors must reject the group’s plan to place a measure on the November ballot eliminating or weakening the BIC.

Tenants Deserve Habitable Dwellings

 If Committee members ever read the ballot handbook on the initiative (Prop G) that created the BIC they would know that improving living conditions for tenants drove the measure’s passage. Voters got what they were promised. Prior to the BIC, the downtown-run and politically unaccountable Bureau of Building Inspection (BBI) made housing code enforcement its lowest priority. The BBI failed tenants, landlords, and builders alike.

After the BIC was seated, stronger and far more effective code enforcement procedures were installed in record time. San Francisco went from having one the nation’s worst code enforcement systems to a national model (New York City, Oakland, and Los Angeles consulted me on how to adopt code enforcement procedures based on the San Francisco model).

Under the BIC’s leadership, DBI has never deviated from these successful code enforcement policies to this day. DBI  continues targeting bad landlords rather than good ones, which was not the case at the prior BBI.

The BIC has given San Francisco tenants the greatest protection of their living conditions than renters in any other major city in the United States. This is the success this committee wants to dismantle.

Misunderstanding the BIC’s Role

Why do these people think the BIC has failed?

According to former Director Ed Harrington, the BIC “lends itself to graft and corruption.” The retired controller claims the commission “neither adds value to the City nor provides adequate oversight of the Department of Building Inspection.”

Harrington supports eliminating the BIC, “stating it neither adds value to the City nor provides adequate oversight of the Department of Building Inspection. However, he acknowledged uncertainty about where its current functions should be reassigned.”

Why doesn’t Harrington know where BIC’s functions can be reassigned? Because he proposed its elimination without taking the time to learn what the BIC does.

Ed Harrington was the city Controller when Prop G, which I wrote to create the Department of Building Inspection and the BIC, was on the November 1994 ballot. He never asked me about what the BIC does and should do. He was a great Controller but knows nothing about the history of city code enforcement and the BIC’s role in improving it. To this day Harrington has never taken the time to talk to tenant supporters of BIC.

As a controller, Harrington made sure to perform due diligence before reaching conclusions. He has not done so here.

Graft and Corruption?

The Building Inspection Commission was designed to set housing and building policies and to approve department budgets. Its purpose was never focused on eliminating “graft and corruption” because as a commission its members do not have supervisory authority over front line staff.

Ed Harrington knows enough about how San Francisco operates to know that Commissioners are not to blame for a Building Inspector on the take. Or a permit expediter falsifying information. Commissioners do not directly supervise line employees; I believe a city charter provision bars them from doing so.

In thirty years of operation covering tens of thousands of inspections and permits, DBI has seen a handful of corruption cases. It’s also seen a huge number of cases where commission policies have resulted in tenants getting heat, hot water, and other vital services they did not get before the BIC.

Prior to the BIC the city had no Spanish-speaking housing inspectors! Nearly all housing code lawsuits filed by the city attorney were to close illegal in-law apartments!

Absent a commission, slumlords were almost never prosecuted. Why? Because the downtown interests that controlled the then-BBI did not want the agency to pay the city attorney’s office to sue slumlords.

That’s the world without a BIC that Ed Harrington and his colleagues want San Francisco to revive.

It will take all those who care about tenants and social justice to stop them.

The BIC Can Do Better

 I disagree with Harrington’s claim that the BIC does not provide adequate oversight of the DBI. But I agree the BIC should be more engaged with DBI leadership. DBI is such a large agency that commissioners must be especially dedicated to their role. It’s why talk of combining the BIC with the Planning Commission makes no sense. A single commission does not have the bandwith to set policies and monitor two large and complex departments with many very different functions.

If Planning and Building Inspection were combined under one commission, the big developer and downtown interests would go back to calling all the shots. Housing code enforcement would once again become the lowest priority, as those benefiting from that action rarely make campaign donations.

The minutes report that Vice Chair Bruss felt that the qualification requirements made appointments of quality DBI commissioners difficult. But these requirements were recently amended by Supervisor Melgar. Melgar’s reforms also shifted power over appointing the DBI Director from the BIC to the mayor.

Bruss at least knows enough to conclude that “BIC is responsible for administering mandatory state building code and regulations, which makes its role distinct.” Committee member Sophie Hayward also expressed support for BIC’s elimination but “remained hesitant without a clear understanding of where its functions would go.”

Critics of the sweeping Prop D in November 2024 felt that it had been drafted without input from the broader public. Voters overwhelmingly agreed.

The Streamlining Committee is now making the same mistake.

Randy Shaw

<I>Randy Shaw is the Editor of Beyond Chron and the Director of San Francisco’s Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which publishes Beyond Chron. Shaw’s new book is the revised and updated, The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco. His prior books include Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America. The Activist’s Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century, and Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century. </I>

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I know my poem won’t / prevent the next bomb / won’t even save itself / from choking under the rubble.

Basman Derawi

• November 18, 2025 (wearenotnumbers.org)

Abed El Hameed (Abood). Photo: Basman Derawi

I know my poem won’t
prevent the next bomb,
won’t even save itself,
from choking under the rubble.
So why do I write in the midst of a genocide?

Every time I ask myself this question,
the words of Nour Aldeen Hajjaj,
a young poet killed by Israeli missiles
that bombed his neighborhood
 of Al-Shuja’iya in December 2023,
echo in the space, penetrate to my soul:
“I do not consent to my death being passing news.”

I hear the voice of Dr. Refaat Alareer, reciting,
“If I must die,
you must live
to tell my story.”

I see the smiles of Essa and Ouda
enjoying our last tasha* on Gaza’s beach
when Essa beat Ouda again at cards
then we all enjoyed spicy grilled chicken,
its citrusy sumac flavor, while discussing
our dreams of studying for our Master’s
degree together, and traveling to Spain
to watch a soccer game live without having  
to stress our bladders during a long
exhausting circuitous journey.

I think of my friend, Abed El Hameed,
who I used to call Abood,
killed recently while going
to his job as a physiotherapist at
Médecins Sans Frontières in Deir Al Balah,
the so-called safe zone.
In addition to physiotherapy,
Abood was obsessed with history,
especially the history of Gaza,
its historical monuments,
like the Great Omari Mosque,
the Church of Saint Porphyrius,
Qasr al-Basha, that the occupier
has been hungry to erase.

I tell you the age of Eliaa, my nephew.
If the most moral army in the world
had let him live until next June,
when he would have turned four,
he could have told you himself.

I don’t write to humanize Essa, Ouda,
Nour, Refaat, Eliaa and Abood,
all passionate, resilient, caring human beings.
I write to prepare myself for our meeting.

*Tasha is when friends hang out together, enjoy their time, and have fun.

Editor’s note: Essa Fayez Essa and Ouda Al Haw are also commemorated in another of Basman’s poems, We will beat you next time. The full statement of Noor Aldeen Hajjaj is found at Passages through Genocide.

US Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) speaks during a news conference on October 29, 2025 in Washington, DC.

 (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“Yes, let’s extend the ACA tax credits to prevent a huge spike in healthcare costs for millions,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen. “Then, let’s finally create a system that puts your health over corporate profits.”

Jake Johnson

Dec 02, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)

Democratic US Sen. Chris Van Hollen on Monday became the latest lawmaker to champion Medicare for All as the best solution to the country’s healthcare woes as tens of millions of Americans face soaring private insurance premiums.

In a social media post, Van Hollen (D-Md.) said that “we must stop tinkering around the edges of a broken healthcare system,” pointing to massive administrative costs and poor health outcomes under the for-profit status quo.

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“Yes, let’s extend the [Affordable Care Act] tax credits to prevent a huge spike in healthcare costs for millions,” said Van Hollen. “Then, let’s finally create a system that puts your health over corporate profits. We need Medicare for All.”

We must stop tinkering around the edges of a broken healthcare system.

Yes, let's extend the ACA tax credits to prevent a huge spike in healthcare costs for millions. Then, let's finally create a system that puts your health over corporate profits.

We need Medicare for All. pic.twitter.com/lszdO1vw2u

— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) December 1, 2025

Van Hollen’s remarks came as lawmakers continued to negotiate a possible deal to extend enhanced ACA subsidies that are set to lapse at the end of the year, an outcome that would further drive up healthcare costs for millions.

Politico reported late Monday that most senators “believe the chances for a bipartisan breakthrough” before a planned vote next week “are roughly zero.”

“Instead, the most likely outcome is that Senate Democrats put up a bill that has little GOP support for a vote, if any, while Republicans offer a competing bill of their own,” the outlet noted. “And even those partisan proposals remained in flux as lawmakers returned to Washington from a weeklong recess.”

Neither side of the negotiations is offering much more than a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. Democratic leaders want a clean extension of the subsidies to avert catastrophic cost increases, while President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers are demanding new restrictions on the ACA that would make the system worse.

A handful of progressive lawmakers have used the worsening US healthcare crisis to make the case for a fundamental overhaul, one that would replace the for-profit model with a Medicare for All system that guarantees coverage to everyone for free at the point of service—and at a lower overall cost than the current system.

Van Hollen is the newest Senate cosponsor of the Medicare for All Act, formally backing the legislation led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) just last month.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the lead sponsor of the Medicare for All Act in the House, expressed “100%” agreement with Van Hollen’s Monday post.

“Thank you, Chris Van Hollen!” Jayapal wrote.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

Jake Johnson

Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.

Full Bio >

(TheOnion.com)

by Neil G. Ballard and Sage Ríos Mace December 2, 2025 (MissionLocal.org)

In September, we published an illustrated look back at how immigration enforcement changed in San Francisco during the nine months since President Donald Trump took office.

In the three months since, it’s changed again.

In the fall and winter, there have been fewer arrests in San Francisco, but also far fewer judges: The Trump administration has fired 12 of the city’s immigration judges, leaving its courts with only nine to hear more than 120,000 cases.

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Several city supervisors made a point to visit Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in the city; one supervisor was denied entry.

Here’s what’s happened since September, as illustrated by Neil Ballard.

---

Sept. 8: ICE makes largest single-court arrest

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrest eight Colombian asylum-seekers in what attorneys say was the largest single-morning arrest to date at San Francisco’s immigration court.

One woman nearly avoided arrest, but ICE agents intercepted her in the hallway, demanding her name. A social worker, accompanying the woman, asked to see their warrant, which agents later produced before arresting her.

Sept. 18:  ICE arrests another seven, two without lawyers

ICE arrests seven more people at 630 Sansome St. One Mexican woman, whose case was dismissed, was detained moments after her hearing. A family member who drove her to court said that on the drive she had been “so anxious that she turned pale.”

Sept. 19: Man with 10-by-12-inch tumor escapes ICE detention, for now

ICE arrests six asylum-seekers after federal attorneys moved to dismiss their cases. One man narrowly escapes arrest, saying he was in the Bay Area for medical treatment. 

Sept. 25: Supervisor Fielder visits immigration court, concerned over conditions

ICE arrests four more people following their immigration hearings, as District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder visits the court. Fielder says she is “concerned” by the ongoing arrests and pledges to secure additional funding for legal  services.

Sept. 26: ICE slams man against wall in mistaken arrest

ICE arrests three people. One man tells Judge Joseph Park, “I need more time. I am afraid to return to Venezuela,” but federal attorneys still move to dismiss his case. Later that morning, eyewitnesses say that ICE agents slammed another man, who had not received a motion to dismiss, against the hallway wall — before realizing they had the wrong person.

Oct. 10: Supervisor Dorsey tours ICE office, pledging aid for asylum-seekers

Supervisor Matt Dorsey visits the court and tours ICE’s sixth-floor holding facility. He, too, pledges to locate funding streams for immigration legal services and urges philanthropists and law firms to contribute funds.

Oct. 16: Supervisor Chyanne Chen also tours ICE facility as immigrants go into hiding

Supervisor Chyanne Chen tours the 630 Sansome St. immigration court and tours the sixth-floor ICE facility, saying the holding cells left her “deeply emotional.”

Oct. 23: Live updates: Trump announces, then scraps, federal push in San Francisco

Mission Local joins forces with El Tecolote to provide live reporting as Customs and Border Protection agents arrive at an Alameda Coast Guard base. By late morning, the federal surge is called off. By 3 p.m., the city announces an additional $3.5 million for immigrant legal defense and the Rapid Response Network. 

Oct. 29: ICE arrests decline sharply

Milli Atkinson, an attorney of the Bar Association of San Francisco, says no arrests had occurred at 630 Sansome St. since Oct. 3. Some attorneys believe that the sharp reduction may be tied to a series of successful habeas petitions filed on behalf of detained immigrants since August.

Oct. 31: Guards turn away San Francisco supervisor trying to tour ICE facility

District 4 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood attempts to tour the ICE office, but is denied entry until 10:30 a.m. But no one shows up  for morning hearings, a pattern local attorneys attribute to clients’ fear of courthouse arrests. 

Nov. 6: ICE arrests asylum-seeker at S.F. immigration court after weeks without detentions

After a sharp reduction in San Francisco’s courthouse arrests, ICE arrests one woman at 630 Sansome St. The woman had flown in from Texas for her 10:30 a.m. hearing and appeared without an attorney. 

Nov. 21: Five immigration judges are fired in Friday Night Massacre

Five immigration judges are fired in San Francisco. The Trump administration says it is now looking to hire “deportation judges.”

Only nine immigration judges remain in San Francisco, down from 21 earlier this year. The case backlog is the worst in the state.

Nov. 25: Federal court tells ICE to immediate improve conditions

After the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups sued ICE — alleging its San Francisco holding cells were frigid, filthy, and unfit for long-term stays — a federal court says the agency has to immediately improve conditions.

A judge writes that conditions are likely “unconstitutionally punitive in nature.”

Keep Mission Local free by making a tax-deductible donation today!

We have a big year-end goal: $300,000 by Dec. 31.

It’s more important than ever that everyone has access to news that reports, explains and keeps them informed. Paywalls don’t serve anyone. 

Your support makes it possible for Mission Local’s content to be forever free — for everyone.

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Latest on Immigration enforcement

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Neil G. Ballard

neilgballard@gmail.com

Neil G. Ballard is a cartoonist and muralist living and working in San Francisco, California.More by Neil G. Ballard

Sage Ríos Mace

sage@missionlocal.com

I’m covering immigration for Mission Local and got my start in journalism with El Tecolote. Most recently, I completed a long-term investigation for El Centro de Periodismo Investigativo in San Juan, PR and I am excited to see where journalism takes me next. Off the clock, I can be found rollerblading through Golden Gate Park or reading under the trees with my cat, Mano.More by Sage Ríos Mace

For the first time all year, arrests of immigrants without criminal convictions surpassed arrests of those with one

by Kelly Waldron December 2, 2025 (MissionLocal.org)

For the first time this year, almost half of the people being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Northern California have no criminal record, recent data shows. 

That data also reveals that ICE arrests across Northern California have more than tripled this year. 

A Mission Local analysis of data released from the Deportation Data Project, a group of researchers based at the University of California, Berkeley, shows that 48 percent of the people arrested by ICE across Northern California in September had no criminal background, while 39 percent had a criminal conviction. The remaining 14 percent had pending criminal charges. 

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That is a large spike from earlier months, when immigrants with either a criminal conviction or charges made up the majority of arrests in Northern California. September was the most recent full month for which data was available.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump pledged to deport the “worst of the worst,” but the latest numbers confirm that the administration’s crackdown continues to target an increasing share of people who have committed no crimes. Most recently, the president called for a permanent pause on all immigration from “third-world countries.” 

Across the country, about 74 percent of the people in ICE detention centers have no criminal history, according to the Transaction Records Access Clearinghouse from Syracuse University.

In October, Mission Local documented a decline in the number of arrests taking place at San Francisco’s immigration courthouse, where immigrants with pending asylum cases are required to show up for routine hearings. 

But overall, the total number of ICE arrests in Northern California, has more than tripled between Jan. 20 and Oct. 15, 2025, compared to the same period last year. Analysis by the San Francisco Chronicle published in September also found that deportations in California were up 78 percent compared to 2024. https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ytdtE/1/

Those numbers are likely an undercount. For the “San Francisco Area of Responsibility,” which covers Northern California, Hawaii, Guam and Saipan, about 11 percent of the data published by ICE for 2025 did not specify the state where the arrest occurred and thus was excluded from the data we analyzed for arrests in Northern California. The data does not include arrests made by other agencies, such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The latest data shows that a growing number of people are being detained at the short-term detention facility at 630 Sansome St. In September, 246 new detention stays were recorded at the “San Francisco Hold Room,” up 67 percent compared to the previous month. https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ywORE/1/

Generally, immigrants are only held there for a few hours before being moved to a longer-term facility, although Mission Local previously found that at least 38 people were detained there longer than the recommended 12 hours. 

Keep Mission Local free by making a tax-deductible donation today!

We have a big year-end goal: $300,000 by Dec. 31.

It’s more important than ever that everyone has access to news that reports, explains and keeps them informed. Paywalls don’t serve anyone. 

Your support makes it possible for Mission Local’s content to be forever free — for everyone.

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Kelly Waldron

kelly@missionlocal.com

Find me looking at data. I studied Geography at McGill University and worked at a remote sensing company in Montreal, analyzing methane data, before turning to journalism and earning a master’s degree from Columbia Journalism School.More by Kelly Waldron