U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Snapshot: Guerilla Postering

Funny Dinero

The mayor says the city won't help the Bushies crackdown on illegal immigrants--but why is SF still getting money from the feds then?

Eject d'Art

Just when Huck Gee is gaining international recognition for his edgy dolls, this country wants to kick him out

Feds complain that S.F.'s sanctuary city policies impeded investigation of Latino gang

Just when Huck Gee is gaining international recognition for his edgy dolls, this country wants to kick him out

Right-Wing Institute Gearing Up 'To Take Down San Francisco' Over Sanctuary City Policy

Challengers to the city's proposed new sanctuary policy are already circling​You may remember the furor over the memo Mayor Gavin Newsom leaked from the city attorney stating the city would face a "likely legal challenge" if it changed the hard-line policy towards reporting undocumented juveniles ... More >>

Street-Food Vendor Amuse Bouche Reported Detained by Homeland Security, Faces Deportation

Nalipay M./YelpMurat Celebi-Ariner (at right, in yellow) at the Amuse Bouche cart.​Murat Celebi-Ariner -- a San Francisco baker and street-food vendor, proprietor of Amuse Bouche -- is apparently facing deportation to France for overstaying his visa. We don't know any of the details (we're wai ... More >>

ICE Confirms That Amuse Bouche Street-Food Vendor is Detained, Will Be Deported

A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) told SFoodie she could confirm that street-food vendor Murat Celebi-Ariner is currently in detention, and will be deported. Citing security concerns, spokeswoman Lori Haley would not say where C ... More >>

Wife of Detained Amuse Bouche Vendor Hopeful Deportation Isn't Inevitable

At a street-food event at 111 Minna Gallery last night, fellow vendors wore shirts expressing support for Celebi-Ariner.​UPDATE 11 a.m.: Immigration attorney for Celebi-Ariner calls the ICE crackdown on the street-food vendor's visa waiver overstay highly unusual, and might mark the beginning ... More >>

No Action Today in the Case of Detained Amuse Bouche Street-Food Vendor

​The attorney for Murat Celebi-Ariner reported no action today in the case of the Amuse Bouche street-food vendor, who was detained last week for a visa waiver overstay. Sasn Francisco immigration attorney Randall Caudle said his client had been expected to have his case reviewed today, when t ... More >>

ICE Denies Amuse Bouche Vendor's Deferral Request -- He'll Be Deported in the Next Week or Two

Photo via SFistFrench national Murat Celebi-Ariner will be deported on the next available flight.​The attorney for Murat Celebi-Ariner said his client's Deferral of Action request was denied late last night, meaning the street-food vendor will be deported to France. Randall Caudle said he rece ... More >>

Club Caliente Owner Cries Racial Profiling As Cops Attempt to Revoke His Permit

That your real ID, kid? ​The Entertainment Commission will review Club Caliente's entertainment permit at its meeting this afternoon after the SoMa bar was busted three times in recent months for having minors on the premises.The club's owner, Maurice Salinas, is alleging racial profiling, "intimi ... More >>

Will Feds' Move Gut S.F. Sanctuary City Policy?

​An overarching federally mandated program will take decisions about who to report -- or not report -- to immigration authorities out of local officials' hands, the Chronicle reports. In June, San Francisco's County Jail will begin using the Secure Communities initiative -- a program the Departmen ... More >>

Newsom Spokesman's Mantra: 'We Report, We Don't Deport'

Well, these guys do deport​Rare is the catchphrase that makes the jump to the public consciousness. If the glove doesn't fit,  you must acquit: Johnnie Cochran at the O.J. Simpson trial (they acquitted). Read my lips; no new taxes: George H.W. Bush (he enacted new taxes). Mayor Gavin Newsom's ... More >>

Muni To Cease Fare Evasion Saturation Stings

Ashley HarrellYou won't be seeing this anymore -- to the relief of fare-evaders and terrified immigrants​Transit riders who still haven't gotten their May Fast Pass can breathe easier. Due to complaints from the immigrant community, Muni is halting its saturation stings of buses for fare evaders, ... More >>

Worlds Apart

Federal law gives gay citizens with foreign partners tough choices: Leave the U.S.A. Lose your love. Break the law.

'Secure Communities' Program Nails 29 Illegal Immigrants In S.F. Jail

After all, now we have finger prints...​ICE touts success stories of new program -- but San Francisco sheriff's department would have reported "criminal aliens" anyways under old sanctuary city policyIn the first nine days after the San Francisco Sheriff's Department begrudgingly implemented the f ... More >>

Is Philadelphia More Immigrant-Friendly Than San Francisco?

Does Philly's Michael Nutter have more spine than Gavin Newsom?​Philadelphia's deputy mayor said yesterday that his city will likely cease cooperating with federal immigration officials by sharing records of local arrests, a policy change that would put it in the vanguard of so-called "sanctuary c ... More >>

Swindler Dresses As Clown On Kiddie Bike To Impersonate Immigration Official

Oh look! Two immigration officials! ​The evidence is in: To immigrants, there is little difference between an immigration authority and a clown on a kiddie bike. That was the disguise Frank Salvador Solorza used when impersonating an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official and extorting ... More >>

Feds Indict Fisherman's Wharf Merchants For Selling Fake Louis Vuittons

No, you didn't get a real, $5 Louis Vuitton...​In what is being billed as the largest takedown of retailers of designer fakes on the West Coast, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement busted a slew of Fisherman's Wharf merchants for allegedly smuggling and trafficking in fake Oakley, Nike, A ... More >>

'Secure Communities' Deporting Low-Level Criminals and Innocents, Opponents Say

Jaywalking? That'll get you deported, hombre​The majority of illegal immigrants deported by a controversial federal program known as Secure Communities are not the "high threat" criminal immigrants the Feds claimed the program would ensnare, according to statistics released today by civil rights o ... More >>

Asylum Denied

Only a fraction of Mexicans get U.S. asylum.

So You *Can* Opt Out of Secure Communities Fingerprinting Program. Will S.F. Be Allowed?

​Local officials are awaiting a response to San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey's letter yesterday, which once again asked federal immigration officials to allow San Francisco to opt out of the fingerprint ID program that targets illegal immigrants booked into jail. The request comes afte ... More >>

Feds Say Fuck No to Lincecum-Themed T-Shirts

ICE Fucking Took It​The federal government is not your friend. Barry Bonds knows this -- the home run king will be in federal court next year not for using steroids, but for allegedly lying to a federal grand jury about using them (this after a federal agent rooted through BALCO kingpin Victor Con ... More >>

Conservative Immigration Think Tank Wants To Kill San Francisco's Federal Dollars

Sorry, Buster. No more money to keep you here...​San Francisco jails should lose roughly $750,000 in Department of Justice dollars. That's the gist of a  memo released this month by the Washington, D.C.-based conservative think tank Center for Immigration Studies, which accuses San Francisco ... More >>

Washington First State To Spurn Feds' Secure Communities Fingerprinting Program

​Washington State just did what San Francisco tried so hard to do but ultimately failed at: It gave the metaphorical finger to Secure Communities, the controversial fingerprinting program that identifies illegal immigrants picked up by local police.Washington became the first state in the country ... More >>

Elizabeth Lee Granted Six Month Stay Of Deportation

She Can Stay!​Just yesterday Elizabeth Lee ,18,  was facing deportation in two weeks absent some miracle or legal wrangling by her attorneys. But officials from the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agency informed her lawyers this morning that they would grant Lee and her family at l ... More >>

Supervisors Want Mayor Ed Lee to Take a Stand on Sanctuary City

Newsom's gone. Will Campos' law get a second chance?​With former Mayor Gavin Newsom gone, city supervisors are hoping to convince Mayor Ed Lee to enforce their version of the San Francisco's Sanctuary City policy. Let's rewind to the drama: Three years ago, Newsom reversed a city policy that shiel ... More >>

Ammiano Bill to Change State's Involvement In ICE Fingerprinting Program

Barter: Fingerprint for a one-way flight to Tijuana​Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has introduced a glut of controversial and liberal legislation in the last week, including lowering the penalty for growing pot. And now San Francisco's comedian-turned-politician has stepped into the mired debate around a ... More >>

California Leads The Nation in Imprisoning Criminal Immigrants

10 percent of California's inmates are non-citizens.​It's not a winning spot to brag about, but the Golden State is No.1 when it comes to incarcerating criminal immigrants. In fact, California is the only state to break the 100,000 mark. What's worse -- the state is shouldering the majority of the ... More >>

Few Deportable Inmates Are from San Francisco

Mexicans top the list, but the Soviets aren't so far behind. ​Yesterday, we told you about California being a national leader when it comes to the number of criminal aliens incarcerated in our state prisons. It turns out that very few of those criminal aliens hail from San Francisco. Criminal alie ... More >>

A Rat's Life: MS-13 Snitches Run Wild While Turning State's Evidence

Mexicans top the list, but the Soviets aren't so far behind. ​Yesterday, we told you about California being a national leader when it comes to the number of criminal aliens incarcerated in our state prisons. It turns out that very few of those criminal aliens hail from San Francisco. Criminal alie ... More >>

San Francisco MS-13 Gang Wasn't Violent Enough for Edwin Ramos, Witness Says

Accused murderer of the Bologna family jumped into a more violent clique in Richmond, witness testifies. One attorney alleges Bologna murders could have been prevented had federal agents deported Ramos when they first knew about his crimes.Edwin Ramos wasn't indicted with the 24 alleged MS-13 gangst ... More >>

Sheriff Michael Hennessey to Give Illegal Immigrants a Break

Talk to the hand, ICE.​Today we woke up to the news that Sheriff Michael Hennessey has found a loophole in the federal fingerprinting program that identifies illegal immigrants in the county jail. And as of June 1, Hennessey will no longer hold illegal immigrants booked into county jail on minor m ... More >>

Eddy Zheng's Deportation Case Will Not Die

In the final battle. ​In 2005, the East Bay Express published a story called "The Last Stand of Eddy Zheng."  Well, it's been six years and Zheng is still standing -- in more or less the same spot. But now the man who was paroled only to face deportation is seeing his saga enter its final rou ... More >>

Mayor Ed Lee: City Will Shield Some Illegal Immigrant Youth from Deportation

Supervisor Campos after his law policy passed two years ago. Now it will be enforced - for some. ​Mayor Ed Lee announced Tuesday that he will begin implementing the city's controversial Sanctuary City law, only reporting illegal immigrant youth to federal immigration authorities if they have been ... More >>

Federal Fingerprinting Program May Still ID Illegal Immigrant Teens Shielded By City

Looking for the right fingerprints​This week Mayor Ed Lee announced the city would stop alerting federal immigration officials about illegal immigrant youth they book into juvenile hall on felony charges -- if the teens have family in the Bay Area.Even with this new policy, immigration authorities ... More >>

Long-Distance Father

Looking for the right fingerprints​This week Mayor Ed Lee announced the city would stop alerting federal immigration officials about illegal immigrant youth they book into juvenile hall on felony charges -- if the teens have family in the Bay Area.Even with this new policy, immigration authorities ... More >>

ICE Softens Its Stance on DREAM Act Kids, but Still Hazy On Gays

Can Anthony Makk, left, and Bradford Wells get a break? ​The DREAM Act kids seem to be getting a break, but what about gay couples? A memo sent on Friday from the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement appears to tell immigration officers to have a little heart when it comes to enforcing ... More >>

Black Market Giants World Series Gear to Be Donated to Haitians

Giants win goes global. ​Remember when the feds were vigorously seizing knock-off Giants World Series clothing from black-market vendors around AT&T Park last year? Well, it turns out that all those clothes won't just rot in federal custody. In one of those unexpected turns in a globalized wor ... More >>

Feds Close Deportation Case Against Same-Sex Spouse of Gay American

Henry Velandia, right, and his American spouse, Josh Vandiver​The immigration woes of same-sex couples has finally reached a tipping point: The Immigration Court in Newark, New Jersey, has closed the deportation case against the foreign spouse of a gay American this week. The couple's attorney, La ... More >>

"A Better Life": Illegal Immigrant Melodrama Too Sudsy By Half

Henry Velandia, right, and his American spouse, Josh Vandiver​The immigration woes of same-sex couples has finally reached a tipping point: The Immigration Court in Newark, New Jersey, has closed the deportation case against the foreign spouse of a gay American this week. The couple's attorney, La ... More >>

Immigration Judge Delays Deportation for Alex Benshimol, S.F. Gay Man Married to American

Alex Benshimol, left, can stay in the country with his husband Alex Gentry.​In another victory for same-sex couples, a San Francisco immigration judge ignored the Defense of Marriage Act today when she delayed the deportation proceedings against a gay Venezuelan man who is married to an American c ... More >>

San Francisco Gay Binational Couple to Appeal DOMA Visa Denial

Anthony Makk, left, with husband Bradford Wells in happier times.​Anthony John Makk -- the gay Australian national fighting separation from his San Francisco spouse after his marriage visa petition was denied last week -- is not giving up yet. Makk will now appeal the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrat ... More >>

Feds Want Maximum Prison Time for Roberto Acosta, MS-13 Informant Who Lied

The government's snitch is about to get sentenced. ​Federal prosecutors are pushing for the maximum five-year sentence for the criminal informant who was shaping up to be their star witness in the case against San Francisco's MS-13 clique. But his future took a turn when Roberto Acosta was instead ... More >>

Roberto Acosta, MS-13 Informant Convicted of Lying, Wants Out of Jail

The MS-13 snitch thinks the government is ungrateful for his help. ​Roberto "Bad Boy" Acosta, the MS-13 gang informant who for years gave federal agents details about San Francisco's branch of the gang, faces sentencing in federal court next week for lying to his handlers about how many people he' ... More >>

Minhaz Kahn, DREAM Act-Eligible Neuroscience Grad, Set For Deportation

Minhaz Kahn is facing deportation on November 18. ​Federal immigration officials in San Francisco are ignoring a June memo from immigration authorities that deprioritizes deportation immigrants who came into the country as kids. In the most recent case, it's affecting a UC-Riverside neuroscie ... More >>

Minhaz Kahn, DREAM Act Eligible Student, Spared Deportation -- For Now

No deportation for Minhaz Kahn. But others might not be so lucky. ​A DREAM-Act-eligible recent college grad won reprieve on his deportation case earlier this week, yet the celebration ends there. San Francisco-based immigration officials warned attorneys that not all DREAM Act-eligible immigrants ... More >>

Roberto Acosta, MS-13 Snitch Convicted of Lying to Government, Seeks New Trial

The snitch wants a new day in court. ​The MS-13 snitch who provided federal agents with information that led to the mega-indictment of the transnational gang -- and recorded alleged murder confessions that will be allowed as evidence in an upcoming Superior Court trial -- wants a new trial of his ... More >>