Additional details emerged about the woman who was recorded on a now-viral video apparently being detained by ICE at San Francisco International Airport.
Gabrielle Lurie/S.F. Chronicle
The Trump administration said Monday that a widely shared video showing immigration agents restraining a woman at San Francisco International Airport was unrelated to its broader plan to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports during the federal shutdown to ease TSA delays.
In a statement posted to social media, Department of Homeland Security officials said two people were arrested at SFO. One of them, identified as Angelina Lopez-Jimenez, attempted to flee while being escorted to the international terminal for processing, according to the agency.
Both individuals had final removal orders issued by an immigration judge in 2019, the agency said.
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A video of the incident, which ricocheted across the internet, appears to show a young girl crying as agents restrained a woman on the ground.
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DHS emphasized that the arrest occurred “BEFORE ICE officers were deployed to airports to bolster TSA efforts.”
The agency said it was “working as quickly as possible to repatriate the family unit to their home country of Guatemala.”
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Statements issued by SFO officials and Mayor Daniel Lurie sought to reassure the public that the incident was not part of a broader immigration enforcement effort at the airport. The confrontation unfolded within hours of the administration’s weekend announcement that it would deploy immigration agents to airports to help ease Transportation Security Administration wait times during the partial shutdown of DHS.
“The airport’s role is to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the facility for all passengers and staff,” SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said. “We were not involved in or notified in advance of this incident. Airport operations continued without disruption, and there was no impact to flights or passenger processing.”
Officials said the two individuals may have been taken into custody elsewhere before being brought to the airport, though DHS did not specify where officers first made contact with the woman and child.
Nellie Killian, a San Francisco resident who witnessed the incident, said she was exiting a restroom when she saw a crowd gathering near baggage claim as agents struggled with the woman.
“She was kneeling over a bench and they had her sort of penned in, standing behind her,” Killian said. The young girl stood nearby, she said, “crying hysterically.”
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Bystanders began filming and asking agents for identification.
“They were saying, ‘How do we even know who you are? ’” Killian said.
San Francisco police officers and airport officials arrived shortly after and were seen speaking with the agents.
Police formed a perimeter around the group as the struggle continued, and agents eventually placed the woman into a wheelchair, Killian said.
“There’s a couple people who were sort of trying to comfort the child, and the police definitely separated those people from the child,” she said. “I think they intervened to make sure that no one could interfere with what was happening.”
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Killian said she later recognized one of the agents as a former high school classmate.
“They started moving her fast,” Killian said. “At this point, they were flanked by officers all the way,”
Rep. Doris Matsui, whose district includes Sacramento, said she was “deeply angered” by the video and identified the woman as a Sacramento-area resident.
“This is our neighbor and a member of our community,” Matsui said, adding that she is seeking answers about the circumstances of the arrest.
At a news conference at SFO on Monday, state Sen. Scott Wiener said his “understanding is they did board a plane.”
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The incident unfolded around 10:30 p.m. Sunday in Terminal 3, according to social media posts and police. Videos appear to show federal agents restraining a woman in handcuffs as she screamed, while a young girl cried nearby. The agents, wearing dark clothing, did not respond to bystanders’ requests to show identification.
San Francisco police officers responded to a 911 call around 10 p.m. and were seen creating a barrier between the agents and onlookers.
“SFPD officers were not involved in the incident but remained at the scene to maintain public safety,” police officials said in a statement. “SFPD has a large presence and is responsible for public safety at the airport.”
Under city policy, police do not assist in federal enforcement.
In a Monday statement, Mayor Lurie called the incident “upsetting” but said there was no indication of broader immigration enforcement at the airport.
“We have no reason to believe there is broader federal immigration enforcement at SFO,” Lurie said. “SFPD officers remained at the scene to maintain public safety and were not involved in the incident.”
The confrontation came as ICE agents began deploying to airports nationwide Monday, part of an effort to ease long security lines caused by TSA staffing shortages during the shutdown, now in its sixth week.
Border czar Tom Homan said Sunday that agents would assist with non-screening roles, such as monitoring exits, to allow TSA officers to focus on security checkpoints. The administration has said ICE agents would be sent to about 14 airports, none in the Bay Area.
San Francisco International Airport is one of about 20 U.S. airports that use private contractors, rather than federal TSA employees, to staff security checkpoints. Because those screeners are privately employed and funded, they continue to be paid during the shutdown, helping SFO avoid the staffing shortages seen elsewhere.