Fewer arrests, fewer judges: How the ICE crackdown has changed in S.F.

"In the fall and winter, there have been fewer arrests in San Francisco but also far fewer judges: The Trump administration has fired 12 of the city's immigration judges, leaving its courts with only nine to hear more than 120,000 cases. Several city supervisors made a point to visit Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in the city; one supervisor was denied entry."

"Sept. 8: ICE makes largest single-court arrest Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest eight Colombian asylum-seekers in what attorneys say was the largest single-morning arrest to date at San Francisco's immigration court. One woman nearly avoided arrest but ICE agents intercepted her in the hallway, demanding her name. A social worker, accompanying the woman, asked to see their warrant, which agents later produce before arresting her."

"ICE arrests three people. One man tells Judge Joseph Park, "I need more time. I am afraid to return to Venezuela," but federal attorneys still move to dismiss his case. Later that morning, eyewitnesses say that ICE agents slammed another man, who had not received a motion to dismiss, against the hallway wall before realizing they had the wrong person."

Fall and winter brought fewer arrests in San Francisco alongside a sharp reduction in immigration judges. The administration fired 12 of the city's immigration judges, leaving nine judges to process more than 120,000 cases. On Sept. 8, ICE arrested eight Colombian asylum-seekers in what attorneys described as the largest single-morning arrest at the city's immigration court. Agents intercepted a woman in a hallway and later produced a warrant before arresting her. ICE detained three people that morning; one man told a judge he feared returning to Venezuela, yet federal attorneys moved to dismiss his case. Customs and Border Protection agents briefly arrived at an Alameda Coast Guard base before a federal surge was called off. The city announced an additional $3.5 million for immigrant legal defense and the Rapid Response Network. A District 4 supervisor was denied entry when attempting to tour the local ICE office.

Read at Mission Local