ICE agents arrest woman at SFO, bystanders capture on video
SAN FRANCISCO - Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted an enforcement operation inside San Francisco International Airport Sunday night, arresting a woman in the secure area of Terminal 3, airport officials said.
Woman arrested at SFO
What we know:
The arrest took place in Boarding Area E, which primarily serves United Airlines flights, according to SFO spokesman Doug Yakel.
What we don't know:
It was not immediately clear why the woman was arrested, where she was headed or why she was placed in handcuffs.
Videos of the arrest were captured by various people on social media, who noted the arrest of the woman with a young girl, likely her daughter, about 10 p.m. People are heard shouting at the ICE agents.
"This is unAmerican," someone is heard saying.
In another video, the woman is seen crying on her knees, and the videographer, who goes by the handle @argw6 on TikTok, is heard asking for the ICE agent's badge number.
In one of the videos, a young girl with braids is off crying on the side. One of the agents is seen calling someone on a cell phone.
Screenshot from TikTok user @argw6 showing a woman getting arrested at SFO by ICE. March 22, 2026
2 people transported
Not much about the arrest has been publicly shared.
But Yakel did share a little of what he knew.
"We understand federal officers were transporting two individuals on an outbound flight when this incident occurred," Yakel wrote in an email, possibly referring to a young girl the woman was traveling with. "We believe this is an isolated incident and have no reason to suspect broader enforcement action at SFO."
ICE conducts removals through chartered flights, commercial airlines and ground transportation, for both "escorted and unescorted removals," according to the government website. Sometimes, people being deported are placed on commerical flights with escorts.
For countries not bordering the U.S., removals require ICE air charter or commercial flights.
Not related to Trump's national deployment
Yakel did emphasize that the enforcement action was unrelated to President Trump's directive to deploy ICE agents to airports nationwide to assist Transportation Security Administration workers during the partial government shutdown.
Yaekel added SFO is not currently on the list for ICE support at security checkpoints, given that its screeners are private contractors and not TSA.
ICE agents deployed to airports; none so far in Bay Area
Neither SFO nor Oakland International Airport had received notice of any ICE deployments as of Monday.
San Francisco police officers were present during the detention but neither assisted nor intervened in the immigration enforcement action, Yakel said.
"The airport’s role is to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the facility for all passengers and staff," Yakel wrote. "We were not involved in or notified in advance of this incident. Airport operations continued without disruption, and there was no impact to flights or passenger processing."
SFPD respond to 911 calls at airport
San Francisco Police Officer Robert Rueca said that city charter and department policy forbids SFPD from helping with civil federal immigration laws.
However, officers were called out about 10 p.m. to the airport because someone had called 911.
When they arrived, they realized it was an ICE action and they remained on scene to "maintain public safety."
ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.