The 2022 contract between San Francisco and a private parking garage operator overseeing a city garage used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement gives the city “sole discretion” to terminate that agreement, according to language in the contract, which was obtained by Mission Local.
ICE vehicles have been parked in a downtown garage owned by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency but operated by the private firm IMCO Parking for at least a year. Mission Local first reported ICE’s use of the garage on Oct. 30.
The arrangement may be a violation of the city’s sanctuary laws, which prohibit city resources or city property from being used for immigration enforcement. It appears SFMTA did not know about ICE use of the garage until last week.
Rather, a sub-contract between IMCO and the federal Government Services Administration, approved by the city under unknown terms, allowed the federal government to allocate parking spaces for ICE and other federal agencies.
But a week after ICE’s use of the Golden Gateway garage was reported, the vehicles remain, and the contract has not been terminated, despite language that states the “City shall have the option, in its sole discretion, to terminate this Agreement, at any time during the term hereof, for convenience and without cause.”
Section 8.1 Termination for Convenience
8.1.1 City shall have the option, in its sole discretion, to terminate this Agreement, at any time during the term hereof, for convenience and without cause. City shall exercise this option by giving Contractor written notice of termination. The notice shall specify the date on which termination shall become effective
Cancelling the agreement with IMCO, however, “appears to require termination of the entire agreement, not individual parking garages,” said Scott Emblidge, a former city attorney now in private practice, who reviewed the contract at Mission Local’s request. The contract covers 11 city garages and one parking lot, not just the downtown Golden Gateway Garage where ICE vehicles park.
“Any termination would have financial impact for the city,” Emblidge said. The SFMTA relies on off-street parking revenue.
Instead of cancelling the contract SFMTA sent a letter to the General Services Administration on Nov. 2 saying that ICE’s presence was “inconsistent with the City’s laws and policies” and asking it to “immediately remove” any ICE vehicles at the garage.
The SFMTA earlier told Mission Local it was “exploring all options” and working with the city attorney’s office. The agency declined to respond when asked why it has not cancelled the contract.
Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office did not respond when asked whether he would pull the plug on the contract. Instead, he reiterated to a Mission Local reporter on Tuesday that “we have asked them to make sure they get their vehicles out.”
Since the SFMTA’s letter to the federal government on Nov. 2, ICE has continued using the garage, and at least five immigration arrests have occurred in the Bay Area. That number is likely higher, said Shira Levine, co-founder of the Bay Area Habeas Network, which responds to ICE arrests.
The Golden Gateway Garage, located at 250 Clay St. is a few blocks from a downtown ICE field office where ICE processes immigrants arrested across the Bay Area.
But the agreement, as immigration attorney Angela Chan pointed out, says the contractor “must at all times comply” with local law — including local and state sanctuary laws.
In fact, the contract specifies that violation of “Compliance with Laws,” including “local codes, ordinances and regulations,” constitutes an “immediate” default of the contract.
Section 8.2 Termination for Default; Remedies
8.2.1 Each of the following shall constitute an immediate event of default (Event of Default) under this Agreement: (a) Contractor fails or refuses to perform or observe any term, covenant or condition contained in any of the following Sections of this Agreement: […] 11.10 Compliance with Laws
Immigration advocates have documented ICE activity at the site for at least a year. Recently, advocates linked an ICE vehicle involved in the recent Oakland arrest of a Honduran immigrant that left him hospitalized to a vehicle observed leaving the San Francisco garage.
That violent arrest was on Oct. 16. SFMTA director Julie Kirschbaum said she became aware of ICE’s use of the garage on Oct. 30, the same day Mission Local reported the use.
Former Supervisor David Campos, who served as a deputy city attorney from 2008 to 2017, called ICE’s use of the garage “horrible and offensive.” He added that any contract that facilitates ICE operations on city property could itself be deemed illegal — and that the city should pull out of the contract.
“I hope that there are consequences for the person or persons that allowed that to happen,” he said.
