United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents apprehended two undocumented immigrants at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday night, according to SFO and federal officials.
The deportation action was unrelated to President Donald Trump’s declared plan to send ICE agents to U.S. airports to assist Transportation Security Administration officials. An airport spokesperson informed KRON4 that the incident occurred as the federal authorities were transferring two people on a departing flight.
According to State Senator Scott Wiener, “ICE agents violently detained a mother at SFO” on Sunday night. Wiener, who is running for Congress, addressed the event in a press conference at the airport on Monday, saying it involved a mother and her small daughter.
Wiener said they were both put on a plane, but he had no idea where it was going.
According to a tweet from the United States Department of Homeland Security, Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and Wendy Godinez-Lopez were arrested. The DHS labeled the two as “illegal aliens” who had received a final order of removal from an immigration judge.
“While being escorted to the international terminal for processing, Lopez-Jimenez attempted to flee and resisted law enforcement officers,” according to DHS. “ICE is working as quickly as possible to repatriate the family unit to their home country of Guatemala.”
According to SFO airport officials, the event was not part of a larger DHS or ICE operation.
“We believe this is an isolated incident and have no reason to suspect any broader enforcement action at SFO,” an airport spokeswoman said. “The airport’s job is to guarantee that the facility operates safely and efficiently for all passengers and employees. We were not involved in or informed about this situation beforehand.”
According to airport officials, operations at SFO proceeded uninterrupted, with no impact on flights or passenger processing. The San Francisco Police Department stated that it responded to a 911 call at the airport regarding the incident.
“Officers arrived on scene and determined the incident involved federal immigration officers,” the San Francisco Police Department reported. “SFPD officers were not involved in the incident but remained at the scene to maintain public safety.”
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie replied, describing the situation as disturbing.
“I have spoken to leaders at SFO and SFPD, and we believe this is an isolated incident,” he said. “We have no reason to believe that there is additional federal immigration enforcement at SFO. SFPD officers remained on location to ensure public safety and were not involved in the incident.
Lurie highlighted established policies stating that “local law enforcement does not participate in federal civil immigration enforcement.”
“These policies keep us safe and will not change as long as I’m mayor,” she said.
Screeners at SFO are private contractors who do not work for the TSA. According to SFO officials, the airport is not currently on Trump’s proposed list of ICE airports.
