Protesters Surround San Francisco ICE Office After Immigration Arrests

Update, March 1, 12:40 p.m: San Francisco officials have announced that the city will spend an additional $3.5 million annually on legal services for detained immigrants, through the Public Defender's Office and local nonprofits. That's more money than initially suggested by Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer, who worked with Mayor Mark Farrell and others on the funding plan.

The additional resources bring total annual city spending for immigrant legal aid to more than $11 million.  In addition, Farrell and San Francisco Assemblyman Phil Ting are advocating for $7 million in state funding to provide legal representation for all immigrants detained in Northern California. A majority of detained immigrants lack legal representation, according to city officials.

Original story:

More than 200 protesters surrounded the offices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in downtown San Francisco Wednesday and closed the area to traffic, after the federal agency arrested more than 150 people in Northern and Central California this week.

About half of the immigrants arrested since Sunday have criminal backgrounds, according to an ICE statement, which said the agency is targeting people it considers a threat to public safety. But protesters denounced the operation as a move that terrorizes communities and separates families.

UC Berkeley graduate Juan Prieto went to the protest to demand that ICE ensure detainees are treated fairly and are given access to immigration attorneys. Prieto, a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, protection, was one of 10 protesters who linked arms and blocked the intersection of Sansome and Washington streets for four hours.

"Sharing a post on Facebook is no longer enough to protect the undocumented community. They need to get to the streets and shut down ICE," said Prieto, 25, whose younger brother is a U.S. citizen while other relatives are undocumented.

"I need to set an example for my family that we don't need to be afraid. We need to be bolder," he said.

While protester Rosa Alvarado said she wants to protect undocumented immigrants who are otherwise law-abiding, she welcomes immigration enforcement targeting criminal activity.

"We don't need that here. We already have a lot of problems with drugs and homelessness," said Alvarado, adding that she frequently sees drug sales on the streets of her Tenderloin neighborhood.

San Francisco Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer said the city is announcing Thursday that it will hire four more attorneys to represent detained immigrants through the Public Defender's Office. The city is also giving an additional $1.5 million to local nonprofit immigrant rights groups so they can conduct education campaigns and provide legal aid, she said.

"We are not going to sit by idly. San Francisco is going to put money where their values are," said Fewer, who represents the Richmond district and is the granddaughter of immigrants.