Video footage of federal officers detaining a crying woman at San Francisco International Airport angered local officials Monday, even though it had nothing to do with President Donald Trump’s decision. Deployment of immigration officers To airports suffering from staff shortages during the partial government shutdown.
One video posted on social media showed a woman crying and screaming as officers grabbed her and tried to handcuff her while her child looked on. Officers arrested Angelina Lopez-Gimenez and Wendy Godinez-Jimenez at the airport on Sunday, as the family had a final pending order for deportation to Guatemala starting in 2019, the Department of Homeland Security said in an email.
State Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco and a candidate for Congress, held a press conference on Monday outside the airport to denounce the actions of federal authorities. Several Democratic gubernatorial candidates in California also strongly criticized US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in response to the video.
“We don’t want the ice here, and when the ice hits our communities, it only creates fear,” Weiner said.
On social media, the footage raised concerns about Trump’s move to place ICE officers at airports like many TSA officers. He resigned Or they call in sick after weeks of unpaid work. It was ICE officers Spotted on Monday At several airports after Trump said he would deploy them unless Democrats approved a bill to fund this mission Department of Homeland Security. Democrats say they are holding out until the administration makes reforms in the wake of a crackdown in Minnesota that led to the shooting deaths of two protesters.
San Francisco International Airport is not among the airports where ICE officers are expected, airport officials said. This is because the airport He uses private contractors To screen passengers so as not to be affected by the current impasse in Congress.
“We believe this is an isolated incident and have no reason to suspect that broader action will be taken at the Serious Fraud Office,” airport spokesman Doug Yakel said in a statement.
While being escorted to the international terminal for processing, Lopez-Gimenez attempted to flee and resisted law enforcement officers, DHS said. The department usually has offices or processing facilities at international airport terminals. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to return the family to Guatemala, the statement said.
“This arrest occurred prior to the deployment of ICE officers to enhance TSA’s efforts to assist American travelers facing hours-long lines across the country,” the statement read.
In a video of the arrest, officers ignored repeated requests from bystanders to see their ID badges. They were not wearing military uniforms, and at one point an officer asked the crowd to back off. Other videos show a large crowd of onlookers, many of them filming. One video shows the woman eventually being pushed away in a wheelchair while the child walks behind her.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and an airport spokesman said they believed this was an isolated incident and did not indicate a broader crackdown on immigration. Lowry, a Democrat, called the incident “disturbing.”