SF Supervisors Seek $1.7 Million for Immigrant Services Amid ICE Surge
San Francisco supervisors are expected to vote on an additional $1.7 million in funding for immigration services following a surge in immigration enforcement around the Bay Area.
Supervisor Jackie Fielder announced the ordinance on Tuesday after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained a man on Monday in the South of Market neighborhood. Photos of the arrested man, Milton Ramos Rodriguez, obtained by KQED show injuries sustained during his arrest.
The city’s immigration rapid response network confirmed the incident on Monday and said on social media the person detained is receiving legal advice from the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. Over the weekend, ICE brought another patient to Highland Hospital in Oakland after multiple arrests in Alameda County. The individual is still receiving care, the hospital confirmed Tuesday.
“We are here today because a demagogue in the White House is deploying ICE agents to terrorize and intimidate vulnerable communities ahead of an election,” Fielder said Tuesday at City Hall.
As of August, arrests by ICE in the Bay Area are up 60 % since February, according to a KQED analysis. Immigration advocates have confirmed a wave of immigration arrests across the state.
Fielder said it’s time for the city to show support for immigrants with more than words. The funding from the proposed ordinance would go toward immigration legal services and the city’s rapid response network, according to Fielder.
KQED’s Brian Krans contributed to this report.