- By Natalia Gurevich | Examiner staff writer |
- Jun 5, 2025 Updated Jun 5, 2025 (SFExaminer.com)
Federal immigration officers arrested at least 15 people — including children under the age of 10, one as young as 3 — in San Francisco during their routine check-ins Wednesday according to attorneys, city officials and advocates for immigrant rights.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement took the people into custody at a federal field office at 630 Sansome St. where the people were checking in about their ongoing immigration cases, the officials and advocates said. Some could be deported as soon as Thursday.
ICE did not respond to The Examiner’s request for comment prior to press time.
“It was very unusual, very unprecedented,” said Milli Atkinson, the director of the Immigrant Legal Defense Program at the San Francisco Bar Association, of Wednesday’s arrests.
The arrests came a little more than a week after ICE detained four asylum seekers at a San Francisco courthouse and amid a push to ramp up deportations during the first few months of President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House. Axios reported May 29 and multiple outlets subsequently confirmed that two officials in President Donald Trump’s administration had demanded ICE start arresting 3,000 immigrants without legal authorization per day.
The San Francisco Rapid Response Network said Wednesday night that all of the at least 15 people arrested were marked for immediate deportation, including a 3-year-old. Sanika Mahajan of the organization and Mission Action told The Examiner they were residing in Contra Costa and San Mateo counties and had arrived in the U.S. from countries including Guatemala, Brazil and Vietnam.
They arrived at 630 Sansome St. for routine check-ins and to update their contact information as they appealed their immigration cases, Atkinson said.
“This has generally been the practice and policy, because it takes a lot of resources to detain people who are in the middle of their legal processes,” she said. “There’s generally not a safe or humane way to detain families while their cases are on appeal, or they’re trying to make plans to return voluntarily.”
Atkinson said those without children were taken in for “a custody redetermination” and moved to detention facilities in Arizona and Oregon. ICE has “not been responsive” about the locations of the families with children.
Atkinson and others became aware of the situation when the San Francisco Rapid Response Network, a hotline and immigration-attorney resource with affiliates throughout the Bay Area, was activated yesterday to send legal representation to those affected.
“Attorneys were dispatched in each of the cases to follow up and see if there is any legal recourse that can be taken,” Mahajan said.
Immigration advocates demonstrated outside 630 Sansome St. on Wednesday night following the arrests, she said, as they knew those arrested were being held there at least for most of that day.
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“We weren’t sure when they were being moved,” Mahajan said.
Supervisor Jackie Fielder, whose district includes a large undocumented population, shared a statement late Wednesday night that called for Mayor Daniel Lurie to increase funding in The City’s budget for immigrant legal services and support, “which the Mayor has not increased to address the growing need.”
“I encourage the Mayor and Budget Committee to increase funding for our immigrant communities to meet the moment and guarantee ALL San Franciscans their constitutional rights to due process,” she said. “We have the ability to stop the deportations, defend our families, and demand their release NOW!”
The Mayor’s Office did not respond to The Examiner’s request for comment as of press time.
Jen Kwart, with City Attorney David Chiu’s office, told The Examiner on Thursday that while San Francisco’s sanctuary-city policies prevent local law enforcement from collaborating with federal immigration enforcement “except in very limited circumstances,” those policies do not preclude federal officers from operating in The City.
Kwart encouraged community members to stay informed and access services regardless of immigration status, as The City will not ask for people’s status nor deny resources because of it.
“Targeting immigrant San Franciscans impacts all of us,” she said. “When people don’t feel safe going to work or school, it harms all of us.”
Atkinson said Wednesday’s arrests and those on May 29 are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to scare people from attending their immigration hearings.
“These are people who should not be detained and who are in the process of applying for asylum,” she said.
Atkinson said that it has led to some in the community being too afraid to show up, abandoning their cases, and getting removal orders in absentia.
“We really do want to make sure that it’s clear … before people miss an immigration-court hearing out of fear, they really should reach out to their local Rapid Response Network,” Atkinson said. “We have volunteers who will go to court with them to make sure that they’re safe.”
