A coalition of local organizations filed a complaint against the San Francisco Police Department on Wednesday, accusing officers of unlawfully assisting federal immigration authorities during an arrest of two migrants at San Francisco International Airport over the weekend.
On Sunday night, federal immigration authorities arrested a mother and daughter from Guatemala at SFO. They were identified as Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and Wendy Godinez-Lopez and had a final order of removal from an immigration judge since 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“What happened at SFO last Sunday night, was nothing short of horrifying,” said Angela Chan, an assistant chief attorney at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, in a speech at a rally Wednesday.
“What pushed this from horrific to infuriating to enraging was what surrounded them,” Chan said. “A wall of SFPD officers shielding ICE as if it was their job to protect federal agents instead of the people of San Francisco.”
“You don’t need a law degree to understand the SFPD violated state and local sanctuary laws that night. They were there to protect ICE. They were not there to protect the mom or her little girl who were being abducted in the middle of the airport.”
Angela Chan, San Francisco Public Defender’s Office
The scene, which was captured on video by bystanders, showed SFPD officers forming a circle around the agents as they tried to arrest the mother.
FREE SF, a coalition of local organizations that advocate for immigrant rights and community safety, allege that SFPD violated the city’s and state’s sanctuary laws, which prohibit local law enforcement from aiding in the arrest or detention of people by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“You don’t need a law degree to understand the SFPD violated state and local sanctuary laws that night,” Chan said. “They were there to protect ICE. They were not there to protect the mom or her little girl who were being abducted in the middle of the airport.”
SFPD defends its presence
SFPD said in a statement that it responded to the scene in order to keep the public safe.
“Consistent with our City Charter, state law, and SFPD department policy, we do not assist in the enforcement of civil federal immigration laws,” SFPD said. “SFPD officers were not involved in the incident but remained at the scene to maintain public safety.”
FREE SF held a rally outside SFPD’s headquarters on Wednesday before filing the complaint.
“ICE out of SF!” the group chanted. “ICE out of airports!”
FREE SF also filed public records requests, seeking to uncover any communications between SFPD and ICE related to the arrest.
Laura Valdez is the executive director of Mission Action, an organization that provides wraparound support services for low-income and immigrant communities in San Francisco. She and other activists at the rally are concerned that SFPD’s actions during the arrest at SFO will deter migrant residents from contacting police when they need help from law enforcement.
“I worry that our immigrant community will not feel safe calling the San Francisco Police Department,” Valdez said. “They deserve to not fear and not worry that SFPD is not there to serve and protect them when they are a victim of crime, when they are in need of those services from San Francisco Police Department.”