Two protesters were detained by federal agents and two others pepper-sprayed by security guards on Friday afternoon, during a protest outside San Francisco’s immigration court condemning the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an immigration officer in Minneapolis.
About 30 people, many of them in their 20s, had gathered outside the court at 630 Sansome St. at about 2 p.m. in a rally organized by the group Dare to Struggle. They amassed outside the courtroom doors as private security guards and Department of Homeland Security agents stood inside.
“Fuck ICE! Justice for Renee!” the protesters chanted. “It is right to rebel against ICE. It is right to rebel against this fucked up system,” said Sunjay, one of the organizers, through a megaphone, before adding: “We’re gonna try and get in the building and confront these motherfuckers head on.”
The anti-ICE protest turned violent after federal agents detained and pepper-sprayed those trying to enter. Video by Mariana Garcia.
Protesters tried one entrance, found it locked, and then walked to another.
“You can’t come inside!” said an Allied Universal security guard. Several protesters who tried to enter were pushed back by agents and guards, before Amy, an 18-year-old high school student, was seized by a federal agent while still on the sidewalk. She was taken into the building. Sunjay, the organizer, then followed her in, and both were corralled by agents.
A crowd trying to enter 630 Sansome St. after two protesters were detained by agents and security guards. Video by Mariana Garcia.
“Let them go!” the crowd shouted as the two were taken deeper into the federal building. “They dragged her inside of there!”
It is unclear if the pair were cited or arrested.
The crowd kept trying to enter the building after the arrest but were repeatedly pushed back by security guards yelling “Back up!” At one point, two protesters were hit by what appeared to be pepper spray.
The crowd tried to enter the building after the pair were arrested. Photo by Mariana Garcia.
One sat on the ground as others poured water on their face. The crowd remained outside the courthouse, chanting “Let them go!”
Later, protesters successfully entered the building through an entrance on Jackson Street by kicking at the base of a locked door. They made it a few feet into the building before being met by Department of Homeland Security agents and security guards, and turned away.
Dozens of asylum-seekers have been arrested in the courtroom halls of 630 Sansome St., one of San Francisco’s two immigration courts. The court, which has been decimated after most of its judges were fired this year, is set to close by the end of 2026.
Immigrants arrested across the state and region are also taken to holding cells in the building that are allegedly “freezing” and filthy, and civil rights groups have sued to force improvements.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more information.
Protesters continued shouting “Let them go!” Photo by Mariana Garcia.