District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder became the first San Francisco supervisor to visit an immigrant detention facility since President Donald Trump’s administration initiated a crackdown on immigration. On Thursday morning, Fielder walked through the security checkpoint at 630 Sansome St., heading to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters.
Inside, the facility was nearly empty, with only one ICE official visible at the front desk.
Since June, ICE has begun routinely detaining asylum-seekers on the sixth floor of this building, prompting Fielder to express her concern over the treatment of detainees. Accompanying her were Jennifer Friedman, a deputy public defender; Milli Atkinson, the director of the Bar Association of San Francisco’s immigration team; and three members of the press, including Mission Local.
The group visited a waiting room described as small and barren, featuring a low ceiling and divided by glass. According to Friedman, the area is designed for four attorneys and four clients, yet it rarely accommodates that many people due to various restrictions. Moreover, some of the telephones on the wall were reported to be nonfunctional.
While Fielder was allowed access to the waiting rooms, ICE officials did not permit her entry into the actual detention area.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other organizations recently filed a lawsuit alleging that detainees have been held on the sixth floor for periods extending up to six days without access to adequate hygiene, medical care, or sleeping arrangements. The lawsuit claims that the conditions are “punitive and inhumane.”
Additionally, the ACLU argues that asylum-seekers are forced to pay for phone calls that suffer from poor audio quality.
In response, Fielder conveyed her worries about the detention conditions and vowed to advocate for increased funding for immigration services in San Francisco. She highlighted Mayor Daniel Lurie’s new emergency fund aimed at assisting the families of detained individuals, but emphasized the need for more comprehensive financial support.
Friedman explained that ICE allows only one section of detainees to access the waiting room at a time, which can impede timely consultations between clients and their attorneys. This limitation often results in an overabundance of pro-bono lawyers ready to meet clients, only to find the arrangement unworkable.
“Sometimes we have more lawyers than those able to meet,” Friedman stated, emphasizing the challenges faced in a system where efficiency is crucial.
Atkinson added that the legal assistance provided by the Bar Association is cost-effective, citing successful habeas corpus petitions filed to secure the release of detainees since August. Yet the sheer number of cases necessitates extensive collaboration among attorneys, often leading to overwhelming workloads.
One attorney, for instance, managed to file four or five petitions in rapid succession before ultimately feeling unable to continue.
Lawyers involved in immigration cases are experiencing significant stress and burnout, Fielder noted, affirming the need for systemic changes. Atkinson echoed this sentiment, describing the current situation as unsustainable.
Prior to the group’s visit to the sixth floor, Fielder observed proceedings in Judge Patrick S. O’Brien’s courtroom. During an immigration hearing, she witnessed an attorney for the Department of Homeland Security move to dismiss a couple’s cases, only to see O’Brien schedule their next hearing instead.
Despite O’Brien’s efforts to ensure due process, two ICE officers waited outside the courtroom to handcuff the couple, a standard procedure. The young woman, visibly distressed, began to cry silently as an officer read her rights aloud.
Fielder left the courtroom before the second hearing, when two additional men were apprehended by ICE agents despite the judge’s scheduling of their next hearings.
As the men exited the courtroom, ICE officers again handcuffed them and escorted them away, further highlighting Fielder’s concerns about the treatment and conditions within the detention facility.
image source from：missionlocal
