ICE agents detained at least 13 more migrants in San Francisco on Thursday, as arrests by the agency continue to soar across California.
At least seven migrants were detained during a morning ICE operation at an apartment complex in the area of 10th and Harrison streets, according to Milli Atkinson, director of the San Francisco Immigrant Legal Defense Program.
“I think it’s probably the largest single arrest in San Francisco that we’ve been able to confirm through rapid response,” Atkinson said.
A video posted to Reddit showed three men handcuffed on a sidewalk surrounded by masked agents. At least four others, not pictured in the video, were also detained, according to Atkinson.
She said the exact circumstances around the arrests are still unclear, but attorneys with the city’s Rapid Response Network are scrambling to meet with the detainees and gather more information.
“They have so many people that they’ve detained this morning that it’s going to be a couple hours before they’re processed and we know exactly what’s going to happen in those cases,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson encouraged anyone with information to call the Rapid Response Network’s 24-hour hotline.
Another six migrants were also arrested Thursday following hearings at the immigration court on Sansome Street, Atkinson confirmed.
“The courthouse arrests seem to align with their practice over the last two months of trying to get cases dismissed so they can take away people’s rights to apply for asylum and put them in expedited proceedings,” Atkinson said. “Those we’ve been seeing pretty consistently every week at the court.”
ICE did not immediately respond to NBC Bay Area’s request for comment but has consistently said the agency is using a process called expedited removal to fast-track deportations of migrants who don’t have permission to be in the U.S.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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