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Guatemalan mother and daughter detained at San Francisco airport, deported within 36 hours

Mar 30, 2026·Location: San Francisco, CA

Country of origin: Guatemala

Guatemalan mother and daughter detained at San Francisco airport, deported within 36 hours
Photo via The Hill

On March 22, 2026, ICE agents in plainclothes detained Angelina Lopez-Jimenez, 41, a Guatemalan national, and her 9-year-old daughter at San Francisco International Airport after TSA alerted ICE to their presence on a passenger list. Lopez-Jimenez was handcuffed and placed in a wheelchair at Terminal 3 after resisting the agents. She had a final removal order issued by an immigration judge in 2019. Both mother and daughter were transferred to Texas and deported to Guatemala within approximately 36 hours. The detention prompted Democratic lawmakers to condemn the action and community groups to protest, with some alleging San Francisco police illegally assisted ICE in violation of the city's sanctuary policies.

Timeline

Mar 30, 2026—Democratic lawmakers condemned detention; community groups protested and raised allegations of illegal San Francisco police assistance to ICE
Mar 24, 2026—Mother and daughter deported to Guatemala approximately 36 hours after detention
Mar 22, 2026—Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and her 9-year-old daughter detained by plainclothes ICE agents at San Francisco International Airport after TSA alert
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