What started as a routine protest in San Francisco turned into a firestorm after ICE agents tackled and arrested a U.S. citizen outside the city’s immigration building, sparking outrage and raising serious questions about civil rights.
The incident unfolded on Wednesday outside 630 Sansome Street, where small groups of demonstrators have been gathering for months to rally against ICE’s detention of undocumented immigrants. Among them was San Francisco resident Angelica Guerrero, a transgender woman who suddenly found herself thrown into the very system she was protesting.
Guerrero was taken into custody in a dramatic moment caught on video and circulated widely online. The clip shows a federal agent turning, lunging, and tackling her to the ground as stunned protesters looked on. “I didn’t hear any rights being read or anything like that,” Guerrero later told reporters.
For the next 24 hours, Guerrero’s whereabouts were a mystery. Her parents and community advocates said they spent the night desperately searching, with no calls, no answers, and no idea where she had been taken. She eventually surfaced at Santa Rita Jail, infamous for its harsh conditions.
“The holding cells were barbaric,” Guerrero recalled. “The walls where I was meant to sleep were covered in feces and blood. Without a phone call, without being able to contact a lawyer, anything could have happened. They could have shipped me to Louisiana, and nobody would have even known about it.”
ICE agents, arrest, and detain this person for impeding their operations.
The woman filming cries that he is a US citizen.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a citizen or an illegal if you are impeding, you’re going to be arrested! pic.twitter.com/nyco4SEgWE
— AmericanPapaBear (@AmericaPapaBear) July 17, 2025
Her release Thursday morning was an emotional moment, with family and supporters in tears as she walked free. But Guerrero’s ordeal is far from over. She has been charged with misdemeanors for interfering with federal agents and destruction of property.
Civil rights attorneys say the arrest itself may have crossed multiple legal lines. “The First Amendment protects the right to protest, and sidewalks are traditional public spaces for that,” said one senior counsel with the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund. “There is also the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures. And not getting access to make phone calls was a violation as well. With a federal arrest, you have a right to three phone calls.”
Advocates argue Guerrero’s case is part of a broader pattern of ICE overreach, claiming the agency is silencing voices that speak out against its practices. “How ICE is behaving is unjust,” her parents said. “This is not just about our child. There are many others impacted in the same way.”
For people travelling in the U.S. good luck. Truly I hope this never happens to you.
I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped | US immigration | The Guardian https://t.co/ciZRKvjlMY— JillCanadian🇨🇦🇨🇦 (@Jill1Sweden) August 5, 2025
For now, ICE has not responded to requests for comment. The agency has remained silent even as the video of the arrest continues to spread across social media, drawing widespread criticism and fueling calls for accountability.
Guerrero herself says the experience has only strengthened her resolve. “They limited my freedom of speech, the same way they want to limit all of our freedoms of speech,” she said.
Her case is headed to court, where the battle over her arrest, her rights, and ICE’s conduct will play out in the spotlight. For San Francisco’s activist community, the fight is only beginning.
