Federal police arrested 42 faith leaders Tuesday morning, hours after those leaders chained themselves to the front doors of San Francisco immigration court at 630 Sansome St.
The protest, which started at 6:30 a.m. and was organized by the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, sought to shut down the building where immigrants and asylum-seekers are routinely arrested by federal agents after court hearings.
They were successful: By 11 a.m., signs reading “closed” hung on the entrances. Asylum-seekers waiting in line for their appointments were told to reschedule or come back tomorrow.
San Francisco firefighters used what looked like large bolt cutters to cut off the chains from the protesters, who had linked arms and stood with chains criss-crossing their bodies.
Department of Homeland Security agents arrested and zip-tied them one by one, handcuffing the protesters who had been chained to the doors.
The faith leaders, wearing religious garb from various denominations, had earlier stood in front of the courthouse doors, singing, “If you come for them, you’ll have to go through us.” Stoles featuring monarch butterflies, a symbol of migration, hung on their necks, and the group held a banner reading, “People of faith choose love over cruelty.”
“The goal is to shut this building down for the day,” said Allison Tanner, a pastor at the Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in Oakland.
Tanner has been attending anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions and leading vigils for six months, and said she grew tired of watching immigrants entering this building, terrified, before being arrested in the courthouse halls. She wants the detentions to end.
Reverend Deborah Lee, the co-executive director of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, echoed Tanner’s hopes: “Our goal is that no one get arrested from the immigrant community.”
Both main entrances to the court building were blocked by protesters for hours at what was a largely peaceful protest, despite the arrests.
Dozens rallied alongside the faith leaders, holding large banners reading, “People of faith say: All people are sacred. Liberation for all.” Chants included, “ICE, your walls are crumbling. We can feel them quake.”
The faith leaders gathered at Sansome Street 90 minutes before the building’s scheduled opening time of 8 a.m. Immigrants are frequently arrested here during routine check-ins, and immigration attorneys last week accused ICE of flouting a court order to improve conditions in holding cells.
“I’m here today because my faith tradition, like all spiritual traditions, teaches us to care and love for the stranger and to pursue justice,” said Rabbi Zavis. This, she continued, “requires disrupting.”
By 9 a.m. the line in front of immigration court had grown to some 50 people waiting for scheduled hearings or ICE check-in appointments. Marcela and Mara, a mother and daughter from Nicaragua, had no idea that the protest would be taking place when they arrived for a scheduled ICE check-in.
“It’s really heartwarming,” said Mara. The only problem, she said, is that they have a check-in they need to get to. The two have been attending annual check-ins at immigration court together for nearly 19 years.
Asked if they were worried about missing their ICE check-in, Mara replied: “Big time.” They are hoping to prove they were present as required, and figure out their next appointment.
Shortly before 10 a.m., Department of Homeland Security agents had delivered a third and final dispersal order to protesters chained to the doors of the immigration court.
The group remained, chanting, dancing, clapping and singing “Let It Shine” as about eight federal agents looked on.
Within the hour, four firefighters with the San Francisco Fire Department began cutting off the chains.
Protesters who were not chained to the doors sang and played guitar in support of their arrested colleagues. “We are not afraid, we shall overcome someday,” they chanted.
“We sang ourselves into arrest with a song about joy and love,” said Reverend Lee. The group was taken to a processing space where asylum-seekers are also processed when detained. “While we were there, we just kept thinking of all the folks that have been forced into this space,” she said.
Reverend Tanner said that the group did not find out the immigration court had been shut down until they were all eventually released in the early afternoon. “That was the best thing that happened all day,” she said. When asked if being arrested was worth it, Tanner didn’t hesitate: “Totally.”
By 1:30 p.m., the faith leaders and remaining protesters lingered in the street, singing songs, strumming guitars and banjos, and holding banners. They closed out the action with a rendition of “Silent Night,” which those arrested sang inside to federal agents earlier.
Charges have yet to be filed against the 42 arrested faith leaders. The were cited for “blocking entrance.”
Why did **SF** Firefighters cut the protesters chains?
Traitors!
@Tom Lent – Was the “Gotta Catch ’em All” guy in charge?
To get to the other side, and a pension.
Fire hazard.
Out of respect for the law! R E S P E C T!
Where is the mayor in all of this? Why isn’t he coming out like the mayor of Chicago and other cities saying that they will not allow their police to assist ICE?! I don’t see his commentary anywhere. He needs to be held accountable.
Where is the mayor? Good question.
Apparently, Mayor Lurie, feeling pressure from our wealthy “tech bro’s”, was suckered into making a deal with Trump to delay an invasion of troops to establish law and order (as Trump mendaciously claims to have done or to be doing in Washington D.C. and other cities).
What did the confidential deal involve?
Whatever it involved, the establishment is delighted.
The mainstream media is hailing our mayor as a sage who has navigated events that could threaten to disrupt the economic boom associated with AI which is viewed as critical to US global interests.
Lurie is “cleaning up the city.”
If AI or the US economy goes bust– the deal will bust. Our fascist president will label the brave and peaceful people who attempted to block ICE as “terrorists” to be viciously targeted and dealt with like they are now targeting innocent and peaceful immigrants.
It has always been my opinion that filthiest crimes taking place do not take place in the neighborhoods that grab so much national attention (including the Mission). They originate for the most part in Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights, Sea Cliff, and Nob Hill.
With the assistance of the best financial advisors and political muscle money can buy, our famous billionaires, wittingly or not, relentlessly rob, sicken, and pauperize us all by creatively manipulating ones and zeros over optic fiber from their peaceful and well-appointed redoubts.
I am so humbled and inspired by the bravery, the heart, and the willingness of all of these clergy & faith leaders. Thank you!
Yes! Bravo to them! This is what we need….peaceful protests in numbers….courageous actions….not cynicism and paralysis. Anyone can sit in an armchair and criticize this and that but the real bravery is in those who act peacefully and passionately. Thank you to these leaders!
Check ins for 19 years??!!! Why,whats the purpose? Waste of resources! Sounds like harassment.
Did any of the hearings scheduled to take place today go forward without the noncitizens present, and as a consequence, in absentia deportation orders being issued?
Even with the Trump Administration firing the most pro-asylum Immigration Jusges, is shutting down the San Francisco Immigration Court really in the best interests of the people seeking to remain in the U.S. through the immigration court system? If the Administration decides to move the immigration court from San Francisco to Fresno or Bakersfield will this protest truly have helped any immigrants?
Not a Trump supporter here but question the wisdom of these tactics.
They’re all willing to go to jail for their beliefs until it comes time to go to court, when they start whining.
At least this time they were only disrupting immigration court, not the Bay Bridge.
Speaking of whining.
“The two have been attending annual check-ins at immigration court together for nearly 19 years”. What a sham these check-ins are. They are nothing more than de facto ammnesty, giving cover to people so they can claim to be “following the law”. Put an end to this nonsense. Decide once and for all. The vast majority should be sent home.