What to Know
A 66-year-old nanny who was seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers outside of her employer's San Francisco home Friday morning was released 12 hours after exhaustive efforts by lawyers prompted a federal judge to intervene on her behalf, her attorney said.
The woman, who is originally from Russia, was followed by several unmarked vehicles as she was driving to work in Diamond Heights, according to Ghassan Shamieh, her attorney. After parking, five agents, some of them masked, got out of their vehicle and accosted her, Shamieh said.
"She was terrified," he said. "She didn't know who these people were."
The nanny's employer tried to intervene and asked the men to identify themselves, as well as whether they had a warrant. They did not respond or identify themselves as federal agents, Shamieh said, and instead handcuffed the woman and detained her. ICE officials were not immediately available for comment Saturday morning.
Shamieh declined to identify the woman but said she was a Russian native who came to the U.S. on a visa more than 10 years ago and had a valid work authorization and no criminal record. She had overstayed her visa, Shamieh said, but had a pending immigration hearing related to her status and was hoping to obtain a green card.
"It just doesn't make sense," he said. "We have not been provided any reason why she was detained in the first place. … She was abiding by processes of our immigration laws."
Shamieh — who was in the hospital caring for his wife, who had given birth to their third child hours earlier — dispatched a colleague, Kate Ruston, to San Francisco's immigration court at 630 Sansome St.
There, Ruston tried unsuccessfully to meet with the nanny. ICE officials didn't allow her to meet with the woman and gave conflicting information about her whereabouts and whether Ruston would be able to meet with her, Shamieh said.
Amid the crackdown, relatives of those seized by the government — or their attorneys — have described challenges locating their loved ones, and discovering that ICE officials have transferred detainees to facilities hundreds or thousands of miles away from their homes, sometimes just hours after first detaining them.
Shamieh and Ruston filed paperwork seeking a habeas petition and a temporary restraining order in federal court, essentially arguing that ICE was violating the nanny's due process rights and that she should be released.
Immigration courts, which fall under the executive branch, are traditionally the venue to determine whether someone can stay in the country. But immigration attorneys have increasingly been filing habeas petitions in federal court under the judiciary branch over the past year, arguing widespread violations of noncitizens' rights to due process.
"ICE forced our hand into filing a habeas petition," Shamieh said. "They refused to give us any information, or to let us speak to her."
The woman's ordeal comes amid a massive federal crackdown on that nation's immigrant community that has drawn widespread civil disobedience and clashes between protesters and federal agents in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis and elsewhere.
Last fall, the Trump administration had signaled plans to launch immigration raids in San Francisco, only to call them off at the last minute after a late night phone call with Mayor Daniel Lurie.
The nanny's detention Friday raised immediate alarm among the city's immigrant community and a response from Lurie, who took to social media to assure residents that city police were not involved in the incident and do not assist with federal civil immigration enforcement under the city's sanctuary policy.
"Our policies make our communities safer and build trust with law enforcement," Lurie said. "Everyone should feel safe reporting a crime, seeking help or accessing services — regardless of immigration status."
Lurie said he was in touch with the Rapid Response Network — which was created to alert San Franciscans of ICE actions — and other organizations to "ensure communities continue to receive accurate information."
Milli Atkinson, the director of the Immigrant Legal Defense Program and one of the leaders of SF Rapid Response Network, urged residents to use local rapid response networks to "keep our neighbors safe from unlawful actions by the Federal government."
"We want our immigrant neighbors to know they are not alone and the quick response from the community and concerned citizens in documenting the arrest and calling the hotline was instrumental in getting this woman out of custody within hours of her arrest," she said. "We will continue to work together in upholding the rule of law and defending the Constitution in San Francisco."
Aldo Toledo contributed to this report.
St. John Barned-Smith; San Francisco Chronicle; (TNS) | © 2026 the San Francisco Chronicle. Visit www.sfchronicle.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
