Sen. Alex Padilla Makes Surprise Visit to SFO’s ICE Detention Center
After an unannounced visit to San Francisco International Airport’s de facto detention center on Thursday, California Sen. Alex Padilla said it was clear that the airport, like others across the country, has become part of the federal government’s immigration crackdown.
“They’re being pulled into the mass detention and deportation campaign of the president,” Padilla said Friday. “This isn’t meant to be a long-term detention facility. And at times, it has been treated as one.”
Padilla is at least the second member of Congress to visit SFO’s “in-transit lounge,” a 3,000 square-foot windowless room in the International Terminal where more than two dozen immigrants have been held for days at a time since the start of the year, according to a San Francisco Chronicle investigation last month.
Federal law permits members of Congress to conduct unannounced oversight visits of detention facilities. In January, Padilla toured California’s largest detention center in California City, where he described “inhumane” conditions.
Since President Donald Trump took office in 2025, hundreds of people across the U.S. have been arrested while traveling through airports. And, in recent months, media reports have revealed that more are being held in airports for longer than 72 hours, the maximum time U.S. Customs and Border Protection policy generally tries to hold individuals in custody.
After Miami, SFO had the second-highest number of these detentions, which resulted in a transfer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, according to the Chronicle.
In a statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, “Certain travelers may require additional processing based on the circumstances of their case. The length and nature of that processing can vary depending on a number of factors, including necessary records, coordination with other government agencies and transportation or travel logistics.”
Padilla said that he learned it’s not uncommon for ICE to bring detained immigrants to SFO and “turn them over” to CBP. The agency then ensures that individuals are put onto departing flights out of the country.
“Depending on the country, depending on the airline, those flights run every day, or maybe once or twice a week,” Padilla said. “So I think that plays into how long people are being detained there.”
Padilla was granted access to SFO’s lounge after about 15 minutes, he said.
He described the space, which is lined with couches, some lounge chairs and tables, and restrooms, as neither the best nor the worst conditions he’s seen in similar spaces.
“Less than half a dozen” people were detained there Thursday.
“It wasn’t bursting at the seams, it wasn’t overcrowded as we’ve heard reports [of] in recent months, at least not yesterday,” he told KQED. “But because it’s not in a formal facility, you wonder if all the required supporting amenities are in place.”
Individuals held in the airport facility told the Chronicle in September that they were not given changes of clothes, and slept on upright couches with the lights on. Some said they didn’t have access to dedicated medical care.
Padilla questioned whether people held at the airport had access to bathrooms and showers, or if they were able to call family members or their attorneys when necessary.
“Part of what we need to do is to keep the spotlight on, so that the Department [of Homeland Security] and the agencies know Congress is watching and we’ll make sure they’re abiding by the law and policy,” Padilla said.
The senator has been a prominent opponent of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement expansion over the last 21 months.
Padilla made headlines in June 2025 when he was pushed to the ground and handcuffed by federal agents while trying to ask then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question during a Los Angeles press conference. He told reporters at the time that he had been unable to get a meeting with DHS officials amid the administration’s “increasingly extreme immigration actions.”
Padilla pointed out that SFO’s “in-transit lounge” is operated by CBP, not ICE, which he said is primarily responsible for screening travelers for narcotics and contraband, as well as handling individuals who shouldn’t be admitted into the U.S. He said that last year, when some CBP officials were reassigned to support ICE’s enforcement efforts within the U.S., their capacity for those functions was decreased.
Padilla said that Congress hasn’t been able to sufficiently investigate federal immigration efforts since the Trump administration took office, but in the upcoming midterm election, “if Democrats regain the majority, you better believe we’re going to be holding hearings to further expose and hold this administration accountable.”
KQED’s Brian Watt contributed to this report.