FACTUM. | April 2026
The Bay Area remains one of the most protected regions in the country for undocumented immigrants. California, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Berkeley, and Alameda County have all enacted laws prohibiting local police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. State law SB 54 bars officials from asking about immigration status and sharing data with ICE.
From January through October 2025, ICE arrested about 4,500 people in the San Francisco field office’s jurisdiction — 217 per 100,000 undocumented residents, according to agency data. That represents the lowest arrest rate in the country. The national average was nearly 1,000 arrests per 100,000 undocumented residents.
Nearly half of those detained in the Bay Area had no criminal record. In January 2026, ICE arrested 36,099 people nationwide. The year 2025 marked the deadliest in two decades for people in ICE custody, with 32 deaths, according to government records.
Inside 630 Sansome Street
ICE’s quietest enforcement tool in San Francisco operates from a downtown building at 630 Sansome Street, which houses immigration courts and ICE offices. People arrive for scheduled appointments to update addresses, attend asylum interviews, or complete mandatory check-ins.
During the first nine months of the Trump administration, at least 539 people were arrested at such appointments, according to research by Joseph Gunther published by Mission Local. The arrests occur not in courtrooms where attorneys and press are present, but in private rooms on the sixth floor.
On November 13, 2025, a 60-year-old grandmother from Venezuela arrived for a routine check-in. She had no criminal history and was seeking asylum. After the meeting, officers arrested her and moved her to a holding cell on the same floor.
A 44-year-old man with two children in Oakland schools came for his scheduled appointment. His attorney handed an officer a written request not to detain her client, explaining he had no criminal record and two young children. ICE responded in the hallway that the decision was final. The attorney called his wife to inform her that her husband would not be coming home that day.
Sanctuary laws do not apply inside federal buildings. ICE operates on its own territory, where local police do not enter.
When sanctuary fails outside
On March 22, ICE agents in plainclothes detained 41-year-old Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and her nine-year-old daughter at San Francisco International Airport. The family, who lived in Contra Costa County, was flying to Miami when TSA found their names in the flight manifest and shared the data with ICE. The family had a 2019 deportation order. By Tuesday, both were on a flight to Guatemala.
Video of the detention shows about a dozen SFPD officers forming a ring around the agents. Attorney Angela Chan from the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, one of the authors of the city’s sanctuary laws, said police appeared to assist ICE with the detention and transportation, violating both city ordinance and SFPD policy.
SFPD maintains its officers responded to a 911 call and were ensuring public safety. Witness Nicole Killian filed a complaint with the California Department of Justice. The matter remains under review.
On April 7, ICE agents shot Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez during an arrest attempt in Patterson, 74 miles from San Francisco. The Department of Homeland Security said he was an 18th Street gang member wanted in El Salvador for murder who tried to run down agents with his car. Mendoza’s attorney said his client was misidentified and works repairing homes damaged by wildfires. The attorney said Mendoza has a two-year-old daughter and a fiancée who is a U.S. citizen. Mendoza remains hospitalized in stable condition.
Neither sanctuary laws nor local police were involved in the incident. ICE acted independently.
Cities expand protections
Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose, San Francisco, Alameda County and Santa Clara County have adopted or are considering “ICE-free zone” policies. The measures prohibit using municipal property for immigration enforcement operations. ICE cannot use city buildings, parking lots and infrastructure as bases for raids.
The policies represent the next step beyond sanctuary laws. While sanctuary laws prohibit police from assisting ICE, ICE-free zones prohibit cities from providing ICE with operational platforms.
The effectiveness remains unclear. In Portland, Oregon, where similar policies have long been in place, ICE has repeatedly violated facility use agreements. The city issued violation notices but has taken no further enforcement action.
Legal guidance
Immigration attorneys across the Bay Area offer specific recommendations: Do not open doors to ICE agents without a judicial warrant signed by a judge. Do not confuse judicial warrants with administrative orders — ICE often carries only administrative orders, which do not authorize home entry. Remain silent. Do not sign documents without an attorney present.
Anyone receiving ICE check-in notices should consult an attorney before the appointment, not after.
Hotlines include Asian Law Caucus at 415-896-1701, Sacramento Rapid Response Network at 916-382-0256, and Alameda County Rapid Response Network through ILRC.
Bay Area sanctuary laws continue to reduce arrest numbers compared to other regions. But they do not close federal buildings, block TSA databases, or stop ICE agents operating independently. For people with vulnerable immigration status, the gap between “sanctuary city” and “safe city” continues to widen.