U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Tuesday that its agents arrested Milton Ramos-Rodriguez, 51, outside 360 6th St. in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood on Monday morning, Oct. 19, after security video showed a plainclothes agent with his gun drawn while the man said he was a U.S. citizen.
Why it matters:
- It is one of the most widely shared ICE arrests in San Francisco this fall, and it happened on a busy block near Bessie Carmichael Elementary during the morning school walk.
- City supervisors say they will fast-track emergency money for immigrant legal services and the Rapid Response Network in response.
What the video shows
A neighbor's home security camera caught the encounter around 8:45 a.m., The San Francisco Standard reported. A man in a navy suit runs across the street with a plainclothes officer in a red flannel shirt and baseball cap behind him, followed by agents in tactical gear with their faces covered.
"I'm a U.S. citizen. You're not supposed to touch me," the man says in footage described by KTVU. When asked why he ran, he answers that he didn't know who the men were and was on his way to work. Agents pressed him against a metal grate and a window, put him on the ground and led him away in handcuffs. The encounter lasted about six minutes, according to the Standard.
The neighbor who recorded it told the Standard he initially did not see the badge around the plainclothes officer's neck. "I was like, 'Am I about to see someone get murdered?'" he said.
What ICE says
ICE told KTVU that Ramos-Rodriguez is a citizen of El Salvador who was previously deported and has a prior California conviction for voluntary manslaughter. The agency also alleged ties to the Sureños gang but did not explain how it established that, or give details of the conviction or when he was deported.
"ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations remains committed to protecting public safety by locating and arresting criminal aliens who pose threats to our communities," acting San Francisco Field Office Director Julio S. Hernandez said in a statement.
He remains in ICE custody. KTVU reported no immigration court date has been set.
How the city is responding
The San Francisco Public Defender's Office, which now represents him, called it "outrageous for a plainclothes ICE agent to pull a gun on someone walking down the streets of our city." Deputy Public Defender Francisco Ugarte said at a City Hall rally Tuesday that his office is still checking the facts of the reported conviction. "They call everyone criminals. They call everyone felons," he said, according to ABC7.
His mother told ABC7 her son has lived in the U.S. since he was 6 and that she fears for his life if he is sent to El Salvador.
District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder said she is introducing an emergency budget supplemental for immigration legal services and the Rapid Response Network. Board President Rafael Mandelman said he would waive the usual 30-day wait and predicted a unanimous vote, KTVU reported. The Rapid Response Network also reported ICE activity in the Excelsior on Monday, SFGATE said.
Related: SF's funding fight over the Bay Area habeas network and Bonta's lawsuit over ICE courthouse arrests.