Iryna Gorb, the 38-year-old Ukrainian woman whose arrest by plainclothes ICE agents at SFO was captured in a viral video in July, has been released from a detention center after seven weeks in custody.
Gorb announced her release on social media Wednesday, saying she is now waiting for an immigration court hearing that will determine whether she can remain in the United States. As the Chronicle reports, she was held at the California City Detention Facility in the Mojave Desert.
The 70-person women’s unit where Gorb was held reportedly included roughly 35 women who had also been arrested at airports, according to her friend and anti-ICE advocate Andy Eblin, who recently visited her at the facility.
“I needed to make sure she didn’t go another month without being able to see friends and faces she knows,” Eblin said during a recent press conference supporting legislation that would make it easier for Californians to sue ICE agents, per the Chronicle. “We speak nearly every day, but it’s not the same as seeing each other.”
Gorb was detained July 22 after returning to SFO from Portland. Video posted by Richmond City Council Member Doria Robinson showed two plainclothes ICE agents taking Gorb to the ground as she called for help, and the footage quickly spread online.
The Department of Homeland Security said Gorb entered the United States legally in 2010 but overstayed her visa. They alleged that she attempted to flee and resisted arrest. Gorb has no criminal record and is reportedly not subject to a final removal order, according to court records.
“She’s lived in San Francisco for a decade; she works here; she has friends here; she’s part of our community, and they just grabbed her and want to deport her back to a war zone,” California State Senator Scott Wiener said at the time of her arrest.
The Chronicle reports that in her announcement Wednesday, Gorb thanked the women she met in detention for supporting her through what she described as some of her lowest moments.
“There were so many moments when I was ready to give up, but my girls didn’t let me!” Gorb wrote.
She also said she plans to continue sharing money from her online fundraiser with some of the women she met there, saying many detainees lack the resources and community support she has received, according to the Chronicle. She asked supporters for “grace and space” as she adjusts to life outside detention.
Gorb, who works as a photographer and barista, has lived in San Francisco for more than a decade.
Her arrest came as federal immigration officials increasingly began detaining people with expired visas at airports. Immigration attorneys have noted that the increase in airport arrests represents a shift away from immigration courts, where court orders have restricted ICE enforcement.
It was revealed earlier this month that ICE held 25 people inside a lounge at SFO for more than 72 hours through July of this year, which is prohibited under federal guidelines. Nineteen of the 25 held green cards, and 18 were eventually transferred to ICE detention.
Federal data shows hundreds of people have been held longer than 72 hours at airports nationwide this year.
The SFO detention operation has been taking place separately from airport authorities. SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel previously said the airport is not involved in ICE or DHS enforcement operations and is not notified when they occur.
News also recently broke that on the day prior to Gorb’s arrest, an ICE agent left a gun in a restroom at SFO’s Terminal 2.
Previously: Woman From Ukraine Forcibly Detained at SFO In Viral Video; Feds Say She Overstayed Her Visa
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