Immigration Activist Says Her Jail Conditions Were 'Barbaric' After Arrest in SF

After a third U.S. citizen protesting federal immigration enforcement was detained in San Francisco this month, a coalition of labor unions is warning that the recent actions mark yet another escalation in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity.

Representatives of more than five local unions rallied outside the federal courthouse where Angélica Guerrero was arraigned Thursday. Federal law enforcement agents arrested Guerrero on Wednesday amid an altercation outside the city’s ICE field office following the detention of an immigrant attending an asylum hearing.

“This is a union household. These are not the damn criminals this administration is talking about that they’re trying to clean the country of,” said Olga Miranda, who heads the Service Employees International Union chapter that represents janitors in downtown San Francisco. “These are hard-working people, taxpayers, Americans. This means that we all have a target on our backs.”

Family and friends gathered Thursday said Guerrero has been an integral presence at protests in San Francisco opposing unprecedented ICE detentions at local immigration courts and field offices, where officers have taken to arresting people attending mandatory status hearings and check-in appointments.

She was among a group of a few dozen protesters who faced off with federal officers on Wednesday, first at the immigration court on Montgomery Street, where they attempted to block ICE’s path to transfer the detained man the half-mile to their office on Sansome Street. Protesters initially blocked the court’s door, and later stood in the surrounding streets, urging drivers to stall their cars to halt their vans.

A few minutes later, after federal officers and about a dozen protesters traveled on foot to the immigration office, Guerrero was tackled, pepper-sprayed, zip-tied and taken inside.

Advocates say they gathered at the Sansome Street office late into the night Wednesday, but did not hear about Guerrero’s whereabouts until about midnight, when they found out that she had been taken to Santa Rita Jail in the East Bay.

“Those holding cells in Santa Rita Jail are barbaric,” Guerrero said after her release. “The walls where I was meant to sleep were covered in feces and blood.”

This morning, their first contact with her was at her arraignment.

“I was taken back and forth to different agencies over the last 24 hours,” Guerrero said. “Without a phone call, without being able to contact a lawyer. They could have shipped me to Louisiana; nobody would have even known about it until charges were filed.”

Just moments before Guerrero exited the courthouse to cheers and sighs of relief, her father, Ernesto, spoke about immigrating to the U.S. more than four decades ago.

“I am the good story of America,” he said through tears. “This is not the America I met 40 years ago. And I believe that this is not a perfect place, but a place where you still have a chance to raise up a good family, have a decent life. But I am shocked at what has happened these last six months.”

Guerrero’s mother said that her fight was not over, but said she was overwhelmed with gratitude for the people who worked for her daughter’s release.

Whether arrests like Guerrero’s are legal under federal law is murky.

While ICE is barred from arresting U.S. citizens, it has a directive that allows officers to arrest any person who they believe is committing a felony “if the officer or employee is performing duties relating to the enforcement of the immigration laws at the time of the arrest.”

ICE did not answer inquiries for more information about the arrest.

In recent months, federal officers have arrested citizens amid similar protests in Los Angeles, and two weeks ago, two citizens were detained and held for hours after a separate protest at San Francisco’s immigration court.

During Wednesday’s protest, officers also pepper-sprayed two people, including a reporter, who said it was unprovoked.

“They don’t care about your citizenship status, they don’t care about whether or not you break the law,” Guerrero said after her release, referring to federal immigration officers. “At the end of the day, those with power do what they want, and the rest of us have to deal with it unless we organize and fight back.”