Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents clashed with a mob of masked protesters outside of San Francisco Immigration Court on Tuesday, according to footage released by ICE.
The wild confrontation was reportedly sparked by ICE’s detainment of an immigrant at the courthouse, Mission Local reported.
The protesters, many donning keffiyehs as makeshift masks, tried to tussle with the agents while shrieking and chanting “Shame on you, shame on you,” according to the video.
The plain-clothed agents pushed back with their batons, dragging the fight into the street while another group of protesters blocked the entrance to the courthouse.
Some agents eventually clambered into their vehicle and tried to drive away as protesters slammed against the side of the car.
“F–k you, a——s!” one protester shouted.
The car was blocked in by the group of protesters as other ICE agents tried to form a shield around it. The back door, all the while, was still wide open as protesters wailed against the side of the car. Others vaulted onto the hood of the car.
The confrontation between the two groups comes as assaults against ICE agents soared up to 700% higher than last year, according to ICE.
Last year, deportation raids were also notably lower — and less public — as immigration enforcement wasn’t as high a priority under the Biden Administration.
“This behavior is NOT protesting. It’s assaulting federal employees while they’re on duty. It’s impeding federal officers. It’s ILLEGAL. It’s DANGEROUS. And it will NOT stop us from enforcing immigration law,” ICE wrote in a post Thursday.
Many protesters against ICE asserted that the agency needs to be more transparent by wearing uniforms and ceasing operations in unmarked vehicles.
Legislation prohibiting immigration officers from wearing face coverings that conceal their identity has cropped up in Democrat-led states across the US, first in California after the fiery anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles.
Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Alex Padilla of California proposed a nationwide ban in the Senate early this week, dubbed The Visible Identification Standards for Immigration-Based Law Enforcement, or VISIBLE.
“For weeks, Americans have watched federal agents with no visible identification detain people off the streets and instill fear in communities across the country. Reports of individuals impersonating ICE officers have only increased the risk to public and officer safety. The lack of visible identification and uniform standards for immigration enforcement officers has created confusion, stoked fear and undermined public trust in law enforcement,” Booker said of the bill Tuesday.
President Trump slammed the duo’s bill, asserting that they “wouldn’t be saying that if they didn’t hate our country.”
Cory and Padilla simply called Trump’s broad accusation “s–t that ain’t true” and assured that they’re just trying to fix a glaring “loophole.”
Much of the proposed legislation across the nation includes caveats for officers in riot gear like those used during the LA protests, instead requiring an identifier like a name tag to be placed on the helmet.
New York has tried to enforce mask bans for protesters with little success as Democratic leadership flip-flopped on the topic for months. One that includes an additional fine for people caught committing crimes while masked was squeezed into the state budget in April.
