SF supervisors and immigrant advocacy groups are holding a rally at City Hall today after ICE agents detained a man in SoMa and were spotted in the Excelsior, as cuts to immigrant services threaten hotline staffing and legal assistance.
Today's emergency rally for immigrant services is scheduled for noon on the steps of San Francisco City Hall, with Supervisors Jackie Fielder, Connie Chan, and Shamann Walton expected to speak alongside La Raza Centro Legal and the San Francisco Immigrant Legal and Education Network (SFILEN).
The rally follows reports of ICE agents operating in SoMa and the Excelsior. As KTVU reports, video clips shared by a witness show three masked ICE agents confronting a man in a suit at 360 Sixth Street. One plainclothes agent, wearing a red flannel shirt, initially displayed a gun as the man questioned their identities and repeatedly said he was a US citizen.
Agents in tactical gear searched his pockets as bystanders gathered and recorded the encounter, which ended with the man being handcuffed and led away. The roughly five-minute encounter was captured on video, but it remains unclear why the man was detained. The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office is reportedly working to secure legal representation for him.
The San Francisco Rapid Response Network also reported ICE sightings in the Excelsior neighborhood.
It's unclear if these ICE actions have any connection to the Trump administration's current "Operation Protect the Vote," in which it is seeking out green card holders and other immigrants who have illegally cast ballots in recent elections. As we reported Monday, the administration has identified 28 individuals in California that it is seeking to make examples of — and as KRON4 reports, that list included a woman in Petaluma who was not home when federal agents descended on Monday
Supervisor Matt Dorsey, whose district includes the SoMa location where the ICE arrest occurred, called the encounter unacceptable. According to KTVU, Mayor Daniel Lurie said the city’s sanctuary policies remain in place and directed residents who need immediate legal support during an ICE encounter to the San Francisco Rapid Response Network hotline at 415-200-1548.
That hotline, however, is facing a funding shortfall. Mission Local reported in July that Mission Action, the nonprofit that oversees the hotline, didn’t receive the supplemental funding it was expecting from the city budget this year.
Mission Action executive director Laura Valdez told the paper the mayor’s office said the nonprofit had missed the deadline for submitting its proposal ahead of the final budget, while Valdez said the organization had not been given a clear deadline. The mayor’s office declined to comment.
As SFist reported previously, during its surge in airport arrests in recent months, ICE has been detaining immigrants inside a lounge at SFO for longer than the mandated 72 hours. At least 25 immigrants were held there between January and July of this year before being transferred to official detention facilities.
Related: ICE Has Held 25 Immigrants at SFO For More Than Three Days In 2026, In Violation of Policy
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