Protestors rally outside of the ICE building in San Francisco on June 8, 2035. Over 150 people were arrested Sunday night at a protest against President Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles. More demonstrations are planned. (Aryk Copley for KQED)
At least three more demonstrations are planned for Monday in San Francisco. More are expected throughout the week as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials ramp up raids and arrests across the country, inflaming tensions between Democrat-led cities and the federal government.
Mayor Daniel Lurie made clear that while the city is prepared for unrest, backup from the National Guard was not needed or wanted in San Francisco.
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“We are ready. We are meeting regularly. … We have what we need behind me,” he said at a public safety briefing on Monday morning, referencing the line of department heads standing behind him at the podium.
The news conference came after Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta said California would sue Trump over the deployment of National Guard troops, who normally operate under state command.
Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks at a press conference with public safety leaders in San Francisco on June 9, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
At Sunday night’s protest outside an ICE field office in San Francisco, hundreds of demonstrators decried the agency’s operations in the city and the federal response to a tense weekend of protests in Southern California.
About 155 people were arrested and issued citations for refusal to disperse, according to interim Police Chief Paul Yep.
Authorities said they declared an unlawful assembly when protesters were at Washington and Sansome streets after “members of the crowd began committing vandalism, destroying property and committing assaults.” Many people left after the crowd was ordered to disperse shortly after 7 p.m., police officials said, but a contingency proceeded to march down Market Street and eventually to the 200 block of Montgomery Street downtown, where protesters were arrested.
Protesters damaged Muni buses and broke windows of some downtown businesses, according to police. Three officers were injured during the demonstration, including one who was sent to a hospital for medical examination.
Of those arrested, 147 adults were released after being cited, while one was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon upon a peace officer, removing a weapon from a peace officer and resisting arrest. Six children were also arrested and released.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said her office could opt to file charges against additional people after it reviews video footage. She asked protesters planning to take to the streets in the coming days to do so in accordance with the law.
“I really stand here before you to urge anyone involved in these upcoming demonstrations to ensure that you follow the law in your expression of First Amendment speech,” she said. “That is how we remain a leader in this country. Those who are committing acts of violence and vandalism are undermining the true mission of those who are standing up for what they believe.”
Assistant Sheriff Kathy Johnson said that the Sheriff’s Department had activated a county jail for mass arrests should they become necessary, and was prepared to open additional housing units.
Interim San Francisco Police Chief Paul Yep speaks at a press conference with public safety leaders in San Francisco on June 9, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
“We do not enforce immigration laws,” she said. “However, violent destruction of property is a different matter. We are prepared, we are coordinated, and we are committed to protecting San Francisco and its people.”
Lurie dodged questions from reporters directly related to Trump — as he has done since taking office in January — but he affirmed San Franciscans’ right to protest, noting that federal immigration policy was making the city less safe.
“I understand why people are out on the streets,” he said. “The tactics being used across the country to target immigrant communities are meant to instill fear. Those tactics make members of our community less likely to work with law enforcement to report crimes and criminals; they make people afraid to go to work or send their kids to school.”
Last week, 15 people were detained at the city’s immigration court following ICE check-ins, including a 3-year-old. Many of the women and children who were detained have been sent to detention centers out of state, since California does not have any family detention centers, according to Milli Atkinson, director of the Immigrant Legal Defense Program at the San Francisco Bar Association’s Justice and Diversity Center.
She said at least one woman and her children are being held in a Texas detention center.
Although ICE officials haven’t been seen at the immigration court on Montgomery Street since May 27, Atkinson said the first confirmed ICE arrest at the city’s federal courthouse occurred Friday.
She said that the legal defense center would be more carefully monitoring the courtroom where the man was detained, since it is where immigration hearings occur and could be a target for ICE operations.
San Francisco will continue to prohibit local law enforcement from assisting in immigration enforcement, Lurie said, adding that his administration is investing in immigrant legal services and community organizations.
