Asylum seekers detained at Bay Area immigration courthouses, advocates say

CONCORD, Calif. - As federal officers walked a handcuffed man out of an immigration court building in Concord on Tuesday, a crowd of protesters swarmed around them in an attempt to prevent the man from being placed in a patrol car.

Their efforts were unsuccessful. 

Officers, some in plain clothes, others wearing jackets labeled "FBI," placed the man into a black patrol vehicle. 

He was wearing a denim jacket and baseball cap and looked dejected with his hands behind his back; two agents by his side, both wearing masks to hide their faces. 

Much is unknown about the man, including his name and why he was at court. 

Protesters continued shouting as officers returned to the Concord Immigration Court at 1855 Gateway Blvd. 

One woman was seen hitting what appeared to be a federal agent. Other protesters shouted "Shame!" "Shame!" 

Ali Saidi, director of Stand Together Contra Costa, said four asylum seekers were detained. The organization provides rapid response and legal services to immigrants.

Federal authorities have not confirmed how many people were detained at the courthouse.

Those detained were asylum seekers

What they're saying:

According to Saidi, those detained had arrived for scheduled asylum hearings. 

He said the government moved to dismiss the cases over the individuals’ objections and then allowed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain them, with assistance from the FBI’s San Francisco office.

"This is an attempt to get people to give up their asylum claims. It's unconscionable, frankly, what's happening," Saidi said. "It dissuades people from following their rights and undermines the rule of law in this country, which seems to be the playbook."

He said the government is trying to plant fear in people coming to court but underlined that it remains crucial for asylum seekers to attend their hearings.

"If you don’t come to court, then immigration authorities will order you deported so that you cannot ever have your hearing," he said.

Saidi said Tuesday’s detentions were targeted and not part of a random or mass operation.

Fabiola Juarez, who was among the protesters in Concord said, "I am here to support my people, immigrants. We are not all criminals. We are hard-working men, women."

San Francisco courthouse detentions

Dig deeper:

The hearings in Concord were eventually canceled, and the courthouse was closed over the protest. That was also the case across the Bay in San Francisco, where protesters also showed up at immigration court as several people were detained by agents.

"We came out to defend immigrant rights," said Sabina Wildman. "We know that it is a community showing up strong, not being intimidated by Trump or ICE, that's ultimately going to defend immigrant rights. So that's why we came out here today."

Martin Steinman, a representative for a mother and daughter seeking asylum, also said, "The judge announced he had just received an email, they were closing the court and we all had to leave."

ICE being "discreet"

The other side:

ICE reiterated on Tuesday that their agents were allowed to detain immigrants who were wanted, "discreetly to minimize their impact on court proceedings, avoid unnecessarily alarming the public or disrupting court operations."

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