Four people were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents outside San Francisco’s immigration court on Tuesday — a rare tactic Bay Area immigrant rights groups say marks an alarming escalation in local enforcement.
The arrests, believed to be the first of their kind at the 100 Montgomery Street courthouse, sparked swift condemnation from a coalition of immigrant and human rights organizations. The following morning, dozens gathered outside the courthouse to denounce what they called a coordinated crackdown on immigrants and a violation of sanctuary protections.
Speakers from the California Coalition for Immigrant Justice, the California Immigration Project, the SF Rapid Response Network and other groups called for an immediate end to local and federal collaboration.
“They didn’t anticipate the power of people when we get organized,” said Luna Oseger-Montañez, a representative from the We Fight Back Coalition. “We will not let you deport our neighbors.”
Fernando Antunez, a social worker with Legal Services for Children, spoke about his work with detained migrant youth and the increasing complexity of child sponsorship systems. He described the immigration process as an “increasingly labyrinthian system” designed to keep advocates on the defensive, ultimately prolonging detention and deportation for minors.
Antunez also blamed both the San Francisco Police Department and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins for enabling these arrests, accusing them of undermining sanctuary policies by working with federal agencies.
“I take no joy in saying to you all that San Francisco law enforcement has been colluding with immigration enforcement since before Trump 2.0,” said Antunez. “DA Brooke Jenkins, for over the past year, has been collaborating with federal officials to funnel people into removal proceedings.”
His claims echo a 2024 statement from the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, which accused the DA’s office and SFPD of circumventing city policy to aid federal immigration enforcement. That same year, several assistant public defenders signed a letter along with dozens of advocacy groups demanding that Jenkins stop collaborating with federal prosecutors in cases targeting immigrants.
While ICE raids and detentions are not new in the Bay Area, advocates say the use of plainclothes officers outside immigration courts marks a troubling shift.
“This tactic is largely new here,” said Ali Saidi, a lawyer with the Contra Costa Immigrant Rights Alliance. He confirmed that four similar arrests took place in Contra Costa County that same day, along with another one the week prior. When asked if the timing was coordinated, he replied without hesitation: “Yes.”
The press conference closed with chants and calls to action, as organizers urged elected officials at all levels to resist federal enforcement and protect immigrant communities.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve stood up and fought back,” said Sanika Mahajan, spokesperson for the SF Rapid Response Network. “And it’s not going to be the last. We’re going to make sure we never go back to a status quo where something like this can happen ever again.”
