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by\u00a0MARIANA GARCIA<\/a><\/strong> September 18, 2025 (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/newspack-missionlocal.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/082625_MMG_SansomePrayerVigil-06-780x486.jpg\")
ICE arrested seven individuals at San Francisco\u2019s immigration court on Thursday at 630 Sansome St. At least two arrestees \u2014 a Colombian man and Mexican woman \u2014 were not able to meet with an attorney in the courtroom before they were detained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although this man and woman did not know each other, Judge Patrick O\u2019Brien called them to the stand together. Before their hearings began, O\u2019Brien asked the Department of Homeland Security attorney, \u201cAre there going to be motions?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The attorney replied, \u201cUhhh, both,\u201d referring to the only two asylum-seekers in the courtroom. The department, as it usually does, moved to dismiss both asylum cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Want the latest on the Mission and San Francisco? Sign up for our free daily newsletter<\/strong> below.Sign up<\/p>\n\n\n\n No observers were present, nor were the pro-bono \u201cattorneys of the day\u201d who typically advise asylum-seekers. They were overwhelmed with assisting five other people that were arrested earlier that morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The man and woman sat before O\u2019Brien, who could offer little succor. \u201cI would normally give you some information about how immigration court works,\u201d he said. But because DHS was moving to dismiss their cases, O\u2019Brien knew, as all regular observers of immigration court know, that ICE was likely to detain both immediately after the hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe rules tell me that I should give you at least 10 days to respond,\u201d he said, offering them until early October to respond to the motion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A \u201cmotion to dismiss\u201d signals that an asylum-seeker will likely be arrested by ICE upon exiting the courtroom, even though their case is technically in progress. In practice, asylum seekers are arrested and taken to far-flung detention centers across California or in states like Arizona, Texas, and Hawaii. It is difficult for them to continue pleading their cases while in detention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both had friends or family waiting to take them home after court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Colombian man had been dropped off by a friend who was just outside. Upon exiting the courtroom, he was handcuffed and detained by four ICE agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Mexican woman, 32, explained that she also had a cousin waiting for her. She suffers from high blood pressure, she said, and had medication with her inside a backpack. Two ICE agents took her by the arms and walked her to the sixth floor for processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The woman\u2019s cousin, a 32-year-old U.S. citizen, entered the building lobby and waited for hours to visit her in detention. The two women had driven three hours from their home in Merced to San Francisco for the hearing that morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cousin said that the arrestee worked at a bakery in Merced as a panadera, <\/em>a baker. She had been in the U.S. for nearly two years, and her goal was to be able to save enough money to build her mom a house in Mexico, where she currently lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside the waiting room of the ICE processing center, the cousin anxiously made calls. With tears in her eyes, she called her sister, recounting the situation. \u201cShe was so anxious that she turned pale\u201d said the woman in Spanish, recalling how her cousin felt on the drive to court. \u201cIt was a whole show.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She was ultimately able to meet with her cousin before making the three-hour drive back to Merced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Together, four attorneys of the day divided the asylum-seekers amongst themselves, hurriedly meeting with five who were arrested earlier that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Attorneys from the San Francisco Public Defender\u2019s Office and La Raza Centro Legal were also able to meet with the Colombian man and Mexican woman who did not have legal help or observers present during their hearings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a representative of the Mexican consulate arrived to speak with the Mexican woman in an effort to provide resources for her, in case she does end up being deported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mission Local has been covering immigration enforcement in San Francisco day in and day out \u2014 on the streets and in the courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the Trump administration invests $170 billion in ICE<\/strong>, we want to make an investment of our own: $300,000 \u2014 $100,000 a year for Trump’s remaining three years \u2014 to hire a full-time immigration reporter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Donate<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n mariana@missionlocal.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariana Garcia is a reporting intern covering immigration and graduate of UC Berkeley. Previously, she interned at The Sacramento Bee as a visual journalist, and before that, as a video producer for the Los Angeles Dodgers. When she’s not writing or holding a camera, she enjoys long runs around San Francisco.More by Mariana Garcia<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cShe was so anxious that she turned pale,\u201d said the family member of one asylum-seeker by\u00a0MARIANA GARCIA September 18, 2025 (MissionLocal.org) ICE arrested seven individuals at San Francisco\u2019s immigration court on Thursday at 630 Sansome St. At least two arrestees \u2014 a Colombian man and Mexican woman \u2014 were not able to… Continue reading ![\"Mission](\"https:\/\/newspack-missionlocal.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/mission-local-logo-300x300.jpg\"){kind=logo}
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHelp us cover ICE in San Francisco<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMORE ON IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT<\/mark><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nACLU sues ICE in S.F. to stop courthouse arrests, \u2018inhumane\u2019 detention<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nAt S.F. immigration court, mother of 8-month-old narrowly avoids detention<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u2018I haven\u2019t slept. I haven\u2019t eaten.\u2019 Bay Area immigrants desperate as protections end.<\/a><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
MARIANA GARCIA<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n