Footage of a woman being detained by immigration authorities Sunday at SFO, as her crying child looked on, is sparking outrage. <\/p>\n
Social media videos show San Francisco police officers providing a buffer for federal agents as a crowd of angry travelers yells at them and records the interaction. The video, posted to Reddit (opens in new tab)<\/a>, shows officials pushing a woman in a wheelchair as a girl walks behind. Another video, taken from a different angle (opens in new tab)<\/a>, shows two apparent officers detaining the woman, holding her down on the floor.<\/p>\n \u201cWe understand federal officers were transporting two individuals on an outbound flight when this incident occurred. We believe this is an isolated incident and have no reason to suspect broader enforcement action at SFO,\u201d an airport spokesperson told The Standard on Monday. \u201cThe airport\u2019s role is to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the facility for all passengers and staff. We were not involved in or notified in advance of this incident.\u201d<\/p>\n State Sen. Scott Wiener said officers (opens in new tab)<\/a> from Immigration and Customs Enforcement were \u201cterrorizing a mother while her daughter watched\u201d and reiterated his calls to keep the federal agency out of California.<\/p>\n Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and Wendy Godinez-Jimenez were arrested by ICE at SFO, the Department of Homeland Security said on X, calling them \u201cILLEGAL ALIENS (opens in new tab)<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Officers were escorting the pair to the international terminal when Lopez-Jimenez tried to flee and resisted them, DHS said. <\/p>\n A deportation order for the family was issued in 2019, according to the agency.<\/p>\n \u201cICE is working as quickly as possible to repatriate the family unit to their home country of Guatemala,\u201d DHS\u2019 statement said.<\/p>\n Wiener said Monday he believed that the mother and daughter had been placed on an international flight, but was awaiting word from ICE.<\/p>\n Saikat Chakrabarti, who is running against Wiener in the race to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi, suggested that the footage shows a violation of San Francisco\u2019s sanctuary policies that prevent local officials from cooperating with federal immigration agents.<\/p>\n \u201cHow did two unidentified ICE agents get behind security at SFO to do this arrest?\u201d he tweeted (opens in new tab)<\/a>. \u201cAllegedly SFPD were on the scene providing cover for ICE \u2014 how is that ok?\u201d<\/p>\n A San Francisco Police Department spokesperson said the officers involved upheld the sanctuary policy. The officers were summoned Sunday at 10 p.m. because of a 911 call related to an incident at the airport, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cOfficers arrived on scene and determined the incident involved federal immigration officials,\u201d an SFPD spokesman wrote in an email. \u201cSFPD officers were not involved in the incident but remained at the scene to maintain public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n ICE officials did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n Mayor Daniel Lurie said it appeared to be an isolated incident. (opens in new tab)<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cLike many San Franciscans, I found the incident at SFO last night upsetting. I have spoken to leaders at SFO and SFPD, and we believe this is an isolated incident,\u201d Lurie posted to X. \u201cWe have no reason to believe there is broader federal immigration enforcement at SFO.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Kristi Noem, who was recently fired as secretary of Homeland Security, had praised Lurie for cooperating with federal officials.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got a mayor that works with us very well. He probably doesn\u2019t want me to talk about it a lot, actually,\u201d Noem said March 5.<\/a> \u201cBut he has been cooperative, and we have great conversations and talk quite often.\u201d<\/p>\n Filling in for TSA\u00a0<\/p>\n The chaotic scene Sunday night came soon after President Donald Trump announced that ICE agents would be deployed to airports to help the shorthanded TSA move travelers through security checkpoints.\u00a0<\/p>\n SFO, which has used private security rather than the TSA to screen passengers since 2005, said it does not expect ICE agents at its checkpoints.<\/p>\n Most DHS employees, including TSA officers, have worked without guaranteed pay since mid-February, as Congress has failed to pass a full funding bill for the agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n