Thousands gathered Monday at locations across San Francisco to protest federal immigration enforcement, a day after police arrested 148 adults and six minors during a riot at a downtown Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office.
The largest demonstration drew several thousand people, who blocked traffic at the 24th Street BART station in the Mission at around 6 p.m. Demonstrators condemned the Trump administration’s deployment of 2,000 more National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines in Los Angeles and chanted that ICE is “America’s Gestapo.”
“We are not out here to burn shit or break shit. We are out here to show them we are not scared,” a speaker told the crowd from atop a white pickup truck.
All three protests remained peaceful; The Standard’s reporters and photographers witnessed no arrests or acts of violence. Graffiti was spotted on a church in the Mission as the protest made its way down Valencia Street.
“I’m not upset about the graffiti, but I think people don’t know who we are,” said Robert Gargollo, who works in maintenance at Templo De La Fe. “Jesus was about peace and love and no borders.”
Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a social media post early Tuesday that “two separate small groups committed acts of violence and destruction. Officers have made arrests and ensured the safety of everyone in the area.”
“I understand why people are out in the streets, and I know there is fear in our communities,” Lurie said. “As mayor, I will always ensure we protect your right to protest peacefully — and your right to be safe.”
The San Francisco Police Department said Wednesday that officers had arrested 92 people, citing and releasing the majority of them at the scene.
“At the very end of the night, two small groups broke off and committed vandalism and other criminal acts,” the department said on X.
Officers fired less-lethal projectiles at people trying to evade arrest, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Videos show helmeted police wielding batons as they detained demonstrators.
Manny’s cafe in the Mission was broken into and vandalized, according to owner Manny Yekutiel. A private event of about 30 people was taking place inside when a window was smashed by a crowd, he was told by an attendee. Later in the night, when the cafe was empty, another window was broken, and intruders broke more objects, Yekutiel said.
He was upset by the personal and antisemitic nature of messages spray-painted on the facade: “Fuck Manny” and “Die Zio.”
“We have gotten graffiti here before, but this is worse. These were violent, frightening messages,” he said. “This graffiti was a personal warning to me that I’m going to be killed. It literally says ‘Die Zio’. It feels a little more personal this time.”
Earlier Monday, more than 200 people rallied at the California State Building at noon to demand the release of union leader David Huerta, who was arrested Friday during an ICE protest in Los Angeles. Federal prosecutors announced they were charging Huerta with conspiracy to impede an officer and were seeking a maximum six-year sentence. A federal judge later ordered Huerta released on $50,000 bond.
About 200 protesters gathered at City Hall at 4 p.m. for a demonstration against what organizers called “Trump’s attacks on immigrants and racist travel ban.”
San Francisco Supervisor Bilal Mahmood addressed the City Hall crowd: “If you’re thinking of targeting any of my residents, you’ll have to go through me first.” He announced plans to introduce legislation Tuesday to protect the right to protest.
The protests prompted robotaxi companies Waymo and Zoox to suspend or limit service in areas where demonstrations were expected. Multiple Muni bus lines were rerouted around the evening protest.
Sunday’s violence at the ICE field office on Sansome Street resulted in vandalism to the building and nearby structures. One protester, Luis Fernando Leal, 29, of Oakland, remains in San Francisco County Jail on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said Monday that while people have the right to protest, anyone who breaks the law will be prosecuted.
Protesters march down Valencia Street
Thousands of protesters were marching down Valencia Street on Monday around 7:40 p.m. As demonstrators walked by the Mission police station at Valencia and 17th streets, a few hecklers told police dressed in riot gear to “get another job” and yelled “shame.”
Alicia from San Leandro held up a handmade sign reading “Abolish ICE” on one side and “No human is illegal” on the other. She said she joined the demonstration to protest the Trump administration taking hardworking people away from their families.
“No human being should be called illegal, especially on land that was stolen,” she said.
While the vast majority of marchers remained peaceful, a handful spray-painted buildings and painted over security cameras as they moved about the neighborhood.
Near Valencia and 21st streets, Mac Ryan, a 25-year-old teacher visiting from Ireland with his hurling team, said he didn’t know the protest was happening before stumbling upon it.
Ryan agreed it was weird time to visit the U.S., politically speaking. Then again, “is there ever a good time?” he asked.
Hundreds gather at 24th and Mission streets
At least 200 protesters blocked traffic at 24th Street’s BART station, with the sidewalk and road crammed with demonstrators by 6:20 p.m.
San Mateo County criminal defense attorney and San Francisco resident George Kadifa, 34, said he came to the march to send a message to politicians at all levels that illegally detaining immigrants and working with ICE is something many oppose. “What Trump is doing is dangerous and horrifying,” he said.
“We need a very broad coalition; it cannot just be the people impacted by Trump’s agenda,” said Laura Valdez, executive director of Mission Action. “The road to this authoritarian regime is being paved on the backs of our immigrant community.”
Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who represents the Mission, denounced SFPD’s arrests of protesters Sunday.
“SFPD should not be doing Trump’s work for him,” she said. “Arresting protesters isn’t protecting communities, it is oppressing hope.”
Marchers began heading north along Mission Street at around 6:50 p.m., with chants of “Mayor Lurie, let’s be clear, immigrants are welcome here.”
Erin Harris, a 40-year-old San Francisco resident who works in tech sales, said she came to the protest because she believes Trump’s detention of immigrants is illegal, frightens people for no reason, and tears families apart. “I don’t like what the Trump administration is doing,” she said.
Zoox robotaxis suspend testing near protests
Zoox, the Amazon-owned robotaxi company testing its toaster-on-wheels vehicles in San Francisco, suspended operations in areas where demonstrations are planned. The gondola-like vehicles with no steering wheels have been autonomously ferrying specially approved passengers — mainly Zoox employees — through select parts of the city since November.
‘We have to teach our children what’s right’
SF State University sociology professor Valerie Francisco-Menchavez and her husband, Raul, brought their children to the City Hall protest from their home in Daly City.
Francisco-Menchavez, who was born in the Philippines, said it is important to teach the kids about their immigrant roots — and about standing against injustice.
“We have to teach our children what’s right,” she said. “Things are a mess, but we’re not helpless.”
The family was one of several with young children at the rally. They said that they planned to take BART to the 6 p.m. protest at 24th and Mission streets, and that their advocacy against ICE was part of a broader progressive framework.
“We don’t separate the issues of Palestine, anti-Black racism, and police violence from xenophobia,” Francisco-Menchavez said.
City Hall protest crowd swells to around 200
By 4 p.m., a crowd of less than 50 people and a handful of police officers had gathered at City Hall. But by around 4:20 p.m., around 200 had gathered for the demonstration.
Addressing the crowd from the City Hall steps, Mahmood said he was the son of Muslim immigrants and has birthright citizenship. The supervisor called Trump a coward.
“If you’re thinking of targeting any of my residents, you’ll have to go through me first,” he said to cheers from the crowd.
He added that he plans to work with the public defender’s office to beef up the immigrant defense unit.
Muni announced bus reroutes for multiple services from 5 p.m. in anticipation of a larger protest at the 24th Street BART plaza, which is set to begin at 6 p.m.
Reroutes will affect the following bus lines: the 14, 14R, 22, 27, 33, 48, 49, 55, and 67.
My full statement following yesterday’s demonstration & arrests: pic.twitter.com/7QKvq1MUsw
— Brooke Jenkins 謝安宜 (@BrookeJenkinsSF) June 9, 2025
Hundreds demand union leader’s release in SF
At noon Monday, more than 200 demonstrators converged at the state office building on Golden Gate Avenue to denounce Friday’s arrest of union leader Huerta.
“American democracy is fundamentally under attack by a fascist state,” union organizer Rudy Gonzalez told the crowd. “Now is the time to stand for something.”
SEIU Local 87 President Olga Miranda urged Californians to demonstrate in their cities.
“Half the people who got arrested yesterday aren’t even from here,” she said. “Go do it in your own damn city!”
The peaceful gathering ended around 1 p.m. Current and former supervisors, including Mahmood, Shamann Walton, Stephen Sherrill, Dean Preston, and Ahsha Safaí, were in attendance, and a handful of cops stood on the gathering’s edges. A police car blocked traffic at Polk Street during the demonstration; the street has since reopened to traffic.