by Federal agents and activists struggled outside a courthouse this week, and at one point, the authorities drove away in a van with protestors hanging from the hood, further escalating tensions over immigration enforcement in San Francisco.
The altercation on Tuesday occurred as resentment over federal officials’ aggressive attempts to detain immigrants after they attend mandatory immigration proceedings is growing in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been often observed at the downtown San Francisco Immigration Court building since late May, both outside the building’s doors and in the waiting areas and corridors. They have drawn an increasing number of demonstrators who have yelled at and fought with officers, as well as attempted to block the building’s entrances. The immigration courts in Concord, approximately 30 miles northeast, and San Francisco were forced to close for almost two days a month ago due to protests.
A major departure from previous practice, when immigration agents generally avoided making courthouse arrests because they were worried that they would discourage people from following court orders, is the current ICE strategy.
On Tuesday, masked operatives with body armor and batons were seen pushing through a mob of protesters to carry a guy in handcuffs into a black minivan, according to footage captured by witnesses and local news outlets and confirmed by The New York Times. While some protesters round the van, the video shows agents and demonstrators pushing against each other.
transcript
They’re actually taking someone, and they’re attempting to God, oh God. I mean it. People are stepping in front of the vehicles. God, oh God. The individuals in the cars are being run over by them. Yes, I do. There will be a collision. A person is hanging off the automobile, whoa. God, oh God. God, please. God, oh God.
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