ICE agent draws gun on man in SF as he insists he’s a US citizen

Federal immigration agents detained a man in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood Monday morning after confronting him at gunpoint, despite his repeated assertions that he was a U.S. citizen.

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The San Francisco Rapid Response Network confirmed that one person was detained in SoMa on Monday and reported additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the Excelsior neighborhood. The detained man had been identified and was receiving legal assistance through the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, the SF Rapid Response Network said.

Mayor Daniel Lurie said his office was working closely with the San Francisco Rapid Response Network.

“San Francisco law enforcement does not participate in federal civil immigration enforcement, and our city stands with our immigrant communities,” Lurie wrote on Instagram.  

The encounter unfolded around 8:45 a.m. near Sixth and Harrison streets, according to security camera footage obtained by KTVU-TV. The video shows a plainclothes agent wearing a red flannel shirt pursuing the man with a handgun, followed by two masked agents in tactical gear.

“I’m a U.S. citizen,” the man tells the agents as they surround him. When asked why he was running, he responds, “Because I don’t know who you guys are.”

The agents are joined by a third masked agent and press the man against a metal grate and a building before forcing him to the ground, according to KTVU. Bystanders gather nearby, some recording the encounter on their phones. The footage ends with the man being escorted away in handcuffs, KTVU reported.

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The San Francisco detention followed two ICE arrests in the East Bay on Friday that left both people hospitalized, according to the Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership.

One person was arrested in Emeryville and taken to Highland Hospital, while another was detained near San Antonio Park in Oakland and transported to a different hospital. The organization accused federal agents of using excessive force in both arrests and said it was providing legal assistance to the two individuals.

“These arrests were brutal and put community members at risk. Someone could have been killed,” Lourdes Martinez, co-director of the Alameda County immigration organization and Centro Legal de la Raza, said in a statement Monday.

The arrests come after the Washington Examiner reported Oct. 7 that ICE had launched a statewide enforcement operation expected to last at least 45 days, citing sources familiar with the plans. It is unclear whether the Bay Area arrests are connected to that operation. In the Central Valley, immigrant activists reported widespread detentions at gas stations and bakeries.

Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the statewide immigration operation earlier this month, accusing President Donald Trump of using “fear and panic as a weapon” and vowing to hold federal agents accountable.