By Vanguard Staff
“We have bigger fish to fry in the city of San Francisco than protecting ICE.” – Jackie Fielder
SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder is demanding accountability from the city’s police and sheriff’s departments after senior SFPD officials made controversial remarks suggesting the department has a duty to protect federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from unarmed protestors. Fielder issued a formal Letter of Inquiry on July 14, citing not only those remarks but also recent reporting that SFPD accessed Oakland’s license plate reader data more than 100 times on behalf of federal agencies, a move she says violates California state law.
The controversy stems from a July 8 incident outside the federal courthouse at 100 Montgomery Street, where roughly 10 masked ICE agents attempted to detain a migrant individual. In response, about 20 protestors blocked the courthouse doors with their bodies and bikes. According to video footage published by Mission Local, ICE agents pepper-sprayed protestors, shoved them to the ground, and at one point brandished a rifle at both protestors and a reporter. A van carrying the detained individual later drove through a group of protestors, knocking a woman off the hood.
Despite an initial SFPD statement claiming officers arrived after the ICE van had left, video shows several officers were present just half a block from the incident. Days later, at a Castro town hall, a senior SFPD official stated, “We can’t just sit by and watch our fellow law enforcement agent or officer get hurt,” likening ICE agents to officers from agencies like the California Highway Patrol.
Fielder responded sharply. “It’s baffling that SFPD leadership would equate unarmed protestors with Trump’s armed ICE agents,” she wrote in the Letter of Inquiry. “They can protect themselves with their pepper spray, their guns, their vehicles, and their armor, as they did so readily last Tuesday.”
She continued, “This is not a law enforcement agency upholding public safety. It is a fascist operation that is violating court orders and the rule of law to stoke fear and sow chaos.”
Fielder criticized SFPD’s posture toward ICE as a betrayal of San Francisco’s sanctuary values and constitutional obligations. “We have bigger fish to fry in the city of San Francisco than protecting ICE,” she wrote, citing deteriorating conditions on 16th Street that coincided with large deployments of officers to police protests. “Officers are needed on proactive foot patrols in San Francisco neighborhoods, not defending ICE agents.”
The letter also questions whether SFPD and the SF Sheriff’s Department have ever verified the identities of federal agents to prevent impersonation—an issue gaining new urgency after Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell recently directed LAPD officers to do just that. “At the local level, we are the last line of defense against authoritarianism,” Fielder wrote, urging similar policy reforms in San Francisco.
Her inquiry raises serious legal concerns about SFPD’s use of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) data. The San Francisco Standard reported that SFPD accessed Oakland’s ALPR system at least 100 times on behalf of agencies such as the FBI, ATF, DEA, and U.S. Marshals. “Under California Senate Bill 34 (2015), police departments are prohibited from sharing ALPR data with out-of-state or federal agencies,” Fielder wrote. “Why did SFPD facilitate these data searches?”
She pressed further, asking whether any of that data was shared with ICE or used for immigration-related purposes, and whether SFPD has conducted any audits or disciplinary reviews since Attorney General Rob Bonta issued guidance on the law in 2023.
Fielder also asked the Controller’s Office for a full accounting of the time and cost involved in the SFPD and Sheriff’s response to protests. “How many regular hours has SFPD and SF Sheriff’s dedicated to responding to First Amendment activities from January 1 to July 14?” she wrote. “How many overtime hours? What is the estimate of how much this has or will cost the city?”
She included a detailed list of questions regarding protest response protocols, surveillance practices, and use of drones and cameras to monitor demonstrators. Fielder questioned whether facial recognition data or protestor vehicle information has been collected and shared with federal agencies.
Calling ICE a “fascist agency doing Trump’s bidding,” Fielder framed the moment as a test of public officials’ constitutional responsibilities. “As elected officials, we took an oath of office to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, we find ourselves in a country where the constitutional enemy is now in the Oval Office and using law enforcement agencies like ICE to do his bidding.”
She concluded with an urgent demand for transparency: “Given the urgency of escalating unlawful actions by ICE and the Trump Administration, I request that you submit your responses to this inquiry by Monday, July 28.”
The full letter was sent to interim SFPD Chief Paul Yep, Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, Mayor Daniel Lurie, and City Controller Greg Wagner, with copies to the City Attorney and other officials.
“San Francisco District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder is demanding accountability from the city’s police and sheriff’s departments after senior SFPD officials made controversial remarks suggesting the department has a duty to protect federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from unarmed protestors.”
In my opinion the controversial remark is coming from Supv Fielder because the SFPD is doing what they’re hired to do.
There are reports yesterday that a California congressman doxed an ICE agent who was later attacked and ended up in a hospital.