On Jan. 11, ICE agents used a battering ram to break down the door of a Liberian immigrant’s home in Minneapolis and detain him at gunpoint. They entered the home without a judicial warrant, which is defined as an illegal act under the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which ensures protection from “unreasonable searches and seizures.”
Exactly one week later, ICE busted into another home without a warrant, this time detaining a US citizen and dragging him out into the Minneapolis winter in only his underwear and a thin blanket.
While San Francisco has so far avoided a full-on invasion of ICE into the city, the escalation of force raises an important question: What will local law enforcement do if an ICE agent tries to break into your home?
To find out, Gazetteer reached out to the San Francisco Police Department, Sheriff’s Office, and District Attorney’s office. It’s still unclear if these agencies have any plan.
Last week, Gazetteer sent the office of District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, the SFPD, and the Sheriff’s Office three specific questions regarding the city’s response to unconstitutional operations and detainments by federal forces:
- What protocol do you have on how to address instances of DHS/ICE agents forcibly entering a private home or business in SF without a judicial warrant?
- Under what circumstances could you intervene or pursue charges for potentially unconstitutional use of force by federal agents?
- Is the department/office informed in advance of any details regarding federal immigration enforcement operations in San Francisco?
The office of District Attorney Jenkins and the SFPD did not respond to these questions and multiple follow-ups. Sheriff’s Office Chief of Staff John Ramirez acknowledged the questions and told Gazetteer that the department is currently reviewing operational and legal protocols in the next few weeks.
A few weeks may turn out to be too late. Earlier this month, government whistleblowers unveiled how the Department of Homeland Security circulated a memo that claims federal agents can forcibly enter a private residence with only an administrative warrant signed by immigration judges or agents rather than the judicial version that requires the signature of a neutral third-party judge.
This past weekend, a new memo gave the green light for ICE to arrest immigrants without any warrant, administrative or otherwise.
For decades, ICE agents have skirted the Fourth Amendment, focusing on catching immigrants at workplaces, on the road, and just outside their homes. Immigrant communities have also long been instructed by lawyers and advocates to never open the door for federal officers unless they have a judicial warrant. Under the Trump administration, however, enforcement has become more violent, haphazard, and chaotic, especially with so many new ICE recruits on the ground who may or may not be familiar with the Constitution.
“Training new recruits, many of whom have zero prior law enforcement training or experience, to seemingly disregard the Fourth Amendment, should be of grave concern to everyone,” the nonprofit legal organization Whistleblower Aid said in a Jan. 21 statement.
The swift shift in ICE policy has left both immigrants and those protecting them or protesting raids in an even murkier, more dangerous situation. ICE’s enforcement has cast a wide and brutal net, capturing not just undocumented immigrants with serious criminal charges but all manner of legal residents and citizens. Under the new guidelines, that net is now larger than ever before.
The SF law enforcement agencies’ silence around any plans persists despite a July demand by the Board of Supervisor for the SFPD and the Sheriff to develop a strategy to protect residents from ICE violence. Whether anything resulted from that non-binding resolution is unclear.
Meanwhile, in October, both Jenkins and Mayor Daniel Lurie made announcements suggesting SF would help residents, but did not give specific policies or protocols for doing so.
Lurie only affirmed the SF’s longstanding sanctuary city ordinance and stated that local law enforcement would stay “focused on public safety” and that the city is committed to “peaceful protest.” Jenkins went further: “If the agents cross the bounds of the law, if they do things that we believe are criminal themselves, then I have an obligation as the district attorney to ensure that they’re held accountable, too,” she told the San Francisco Chronicle.
These statements stand in stark contrast to those of other city heads across the country who have taken firmer, more specific steps to resist unconstitutional and violent immigration enforcement.
This past weekend, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order calling police to investigate wrongdoing by federal agents. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner explicitly promised to protect residents’ Constitutional rights, and is one of a number of prosecutors who have formed a coalition, the Fight Against Federal Overreach to oppose ICE. The coalition also includes DAs from Minnesota, Texas, Virginia, and Arizona.
We will update this story when we hear from the DA, SFPD, or a followup from the Sheriff’s office.
