Immigration and Customs Enforcement has intensified detentions in San Francisco, including the recent detention of a third U.S. citizen protesting federal immigration enforcement. A coalition of labor unions warns the actions represent an escalation of ICE activity. Protesters blocked an immigration courthouse and surrounding streets to prevent officers from transferring a detained person to a downtown ICE field office. Officers have arrested people attending mandatory status hearings and check-in appointments at local courts and field offices. One protester, Guerrero, was detained, transported between agencies without phone or counsel and feared being moved out of state. Her father spoke emotionally about immigrating decades earlier and expressed dismay at the change.
A group of protesters first faced off with federal officers on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025, outside the nearby immigration courthouse at 100 Montgomery St., after an arrest at immigration court before moving to the downtown ICE field office. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
"I was taken back and forth to different agencies over the last 24 hours," Guerrero said. "Without a phone call, without being able to contact a lawyer. They could have shipped me to Louisiana; nobody would have even known about it until charges were filed."
"I am the good story of America," he said through tears. "This is not the America I met 40 years ago. And I believe that this is not a perfect place, but a place where you sti
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