A UC Berkeley student was detained by immigration enforcement at San Francisco International Airport on Friday.
The student’s attorney, Niko De Bremaeker of Centro Legal de la Raza, confirmed that UC Berkeley student Paula Valentina Albornoz Hernandez, a 23-year-old who came to the U.S. from Colombia to study business administration, was detained by immigration agents at SFO and is currently being held in a detention facility.
According to detention records, she is now being held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s California City Immigration Processing Center — a facility north of Los Angeles County.
Immigration enforcement agents arrest Paula Valentina Albornoz Hernandez in plain clothes in an image provided by her attorney.
Nikolas De Bremaeker | Courtesy
UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons shared in a campuswide email sent early Monday that the student was detained at the airport while they were about to travel out of state.
De Bremaeker said Albornoz Hernandez was detained for an overstayed visa and was applying for asylum due to “gender-based violence” she experienced in Colombia. He confirmed that Albornoz Hernandez has a work permit.
“The arrest is unconstitutional and unlawful,” De Bremaeker said. “She has built up a life in the country. She has applied for asylum. She has a work permit. She has a right to remain in the country during these proceedings.”
Paula Valentina Albornoz Hernandez pictured with her boyfriend.
Nikolas De Bremaeker | Courtesy
De Bremaeker said Lyons wrote a letter of support for Albornoz Hernandez saying he is “deeply concerned” about her current situation, and that it may “unnecessarily interfere” with her education.
In the campuswide email, Lyons confirmed that UC Berkeley has been working with the student’s family and is providing legal support to ensure the student has “access to advice and representation.”
“This student is a valued member of our community,” Lyons wrote. “And campus leadership is doing everything within our power to support them so that they may return to their life at Berkeley to continue their studies with us.”
De Bremaeker said Albornoz Hernandez is “struggling” from the conditions in custody, and is “extremely distressed.”
This arrest comes after the onset of “Operation Safe California,” a 45-day immigration enforcement operation throughout California, first reported by the Washington Examiner on Oct. 7.
This is not the first immigration enforcement arrest that has taken place at SFO. Multiple politicians, including Sen. Alex Padilla, have visited the “in-transit lounge” at the airport, which has been described as a windowless room in the airport’s international terminal that is used to hold detainees.
ICE did not respond to request for comment as of press time.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.