Mar 26, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- For the second time this March, immigration agents swiftly detained and deported a Bay Area mother and her child for being undocumented and unlawfully present in the United States, according to Department of Homeland Security officials. The most recent deportation happened i n a highly visible space, San Francisco International Airport, in front of shocked, confused, and outraged SFO passengers. DHS officials identified the mother and daughter as Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and 9-year-old Wendy Godinez Lopez. Lopez-Jimenez and her daughter lived in west Contra Costa County, U.S. Rep. John Garamendi said. They went to SFO Sunday to catch a flight to Florida, whey they planned to visit a relative, The New York Times reported. TSA officials tipped off ICE, according to NYT, and two immigration agents found the duo in a terminal. Lopez-Jimenez reportedly showed her Guatemalan passport to the plainclothes agents, confirming her identity. The mother cried, refused to stand, and grabbed onto a bench as ICE agents attempted to wrestle her into handcuffs, cellphone videos recorded by witnesses show. Her daughter stood nearby watching. "U.S. airports are now apparently ICE dragnets," State Sen. Scott Wiener said. "Despicable that TSA is doing this. TSA should not be part of the deportation machine." "A mom and her 9-year-old daughter plucked from the line at the airport by ICE agents in the middle of SFO is something that no child forgets. Trump promised to go after the worst of the worst, yet ICE agents are targeting our neighbors and kids with impunity," Garamendi said. Wendy was a toddler when Border Patrol agents spotted her and her mother near an Arizona border crossing in 2018, NYT reported. A judge ordered their removal from the U.S. in 2019, federal officials said. Homeland Security officials said, "These illegal aliens had a final removal order of removal from an immigration judge since 2019. While being escorted to the international terminal for processing, Lopez-Jimenez attempted to flee and resisted law enforcement officers. ICE is working as quickly as possible to repatriate the family unit to their home country of Guatemala." San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco is seen on July 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) During the SFO ICE arrest, San Francisco Police Department officers appeared to act as a barrier between the agents and passengers who were concerned for the mother and child, videos show. Some passengers scolded the agents, shouting, "Shame on you!" SFPD does not conduct federal immigration enforcement, however, its officers are tasked with maintaining public safety in the airport. An SFPD spokesperson told KRON4, "SFPD officers responded to a 911 call at San Francisco International Airport. Officers arrived on scene and determined the incident involved federal immigration officials. SFPD officers were not involved in the incident, but remained at the scene to maintain public safety." The mayor said, "Like many San Franciscans, I found the incident at SFO last night upsetting." On Wednesday, immigration rights advocates held a news conference to protest the police officers' actions. San Francisco is a "sanctuary city" for immigrants. Advocates said they are demanding that "the San Francisco Police Department cease and desist from standing guard while ICE agents violently seize community members. A number of San Francisco Police officers were seen standing guard and essentially forming a perimeter around ICE agents as they dragged the community member from a bench. Legal experts have affirmed this assistance to ICE violates the local Sanctuary Ordinance." The mother and daughter's deportation follows another high-profile incident involving a Hayward mother and her two young sons. On March 3, ICE agents detained a 6-year-old deaf boy, Joseph Rodriguez, his 4-year-old brother, and their mother, Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez, at an immigration office in San Francisco. All three were deported to their native country, Colombia, days later. Joseph was a student at California School for the Deaf Fremont, and he had spent the past three years learning how to communication with American Sign Language. The family was seeking asylum because Joseph’s mother had fled from Colombia to escape from domestic violence, the family’s attorney said. Gutierrez, 28, worked as a cleaner and child care worker. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said, "In California, she did hard, honest work as a cleaner and a child care worker. She strove to make a better life for her children, ensuring that her Deaf child finally had access to opportunities to listen, speak, and learn." U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell said, "How does ruining the life of a six-year-old deaf child make our community, or our country, any safer? It doesn’t." Congressman Garamendi said he is demanding answers, transparency, and reforms this week from ICE. "The way ICE is operating in the United States ... we want to reform ICE, we want ICE to be a well-trained, well-prepared, well-managed police agency." ...read more read less
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