San Francisco passes its City and County of Refuge Ordinance

Also known as the Sanctuary Ordinance, it prohibits city employees from using City funds to or resources to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The San Francisco Immigrant Legal & Education Network (SFILEN) is created

In response to the Sensenbrenner Bill and the following May Day march and anti-immigrant rhetoric, SFILEN begins its work as a combination of organizations providing legal services, education, and outreach with a holistic approach.

The San Francisco Rapid Response Network is created

The Network is founded in response to the El Balazo Restaurant raids where 63 immigrants were arrested at 11 restaurant locations.

FREE SF is created

FREE SF brings together the efforts of the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Defense Committee (SFIRDC) and the San Francisco Progressive Criminal Justice Network to advocate for community safety, transformative justice, immigrant rights, and self-determination.

San Francisco passes its Due Process Ordinance

Through the Ordinance, San Francisco bans its police department from holding detained individuals (with just a few exceptions) to be handed over to ICE.

California’s Trust Act goes into effect

The Trust Act limits use of immigration holds in local jails.

The Northern California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (NCCIJ) is created

NCCIJ is founded by a group of organizations working towards the universal right to counsel for children, detained, and non-detained immigrants in removal proceedings.

San Francisco Public Defender’s Office funds first immigration attorney

Expedited Dockets begin

A record number of unaccompanied minors and families, mainly women with small children, begin arriving at the Southwest U.S. border, seeking refuge from rising levels of violence in their home countries of Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. The Bay Area legal community rushes to assist unrepresented respondents and protests the additional pressures caused by the accelerated pace of surge docket hearings, which poses threats to respondents’ due process rights by limiting their ability to find and retain attorneys who can properly present their cases.

The San Francisco Immigrant Legal Defense Collaborative (SFILDC) is created

Then-Mayor of San Francisco Edwin Lee and the Board of Supervisors fund legal services for families and unaccompanied children facing deportation on the surge dockets. To leverage their collective resources and maximize their impact, 13 groups choose to receive this funding collectively and form the SFILDC.

California approves $3 million for removal defense of Unaccompanied Children (UCs)

California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 873, which provides $3 million in legal aid to unaccompanied minors in removal proceedings, and clarifies state court roles in considering Special Immigrant Juvenile Status petitions filed by immigrant children.

SFILDC receives its first grant

13 organizations begin their work representing Unaccompanied Children (UCs) and Adults with Children (AWC).

Kate Steinle is shot at Pier 14

Following the shooting, rhetoric against the immigrant community increases.

302 total clients served by the SFILDC

Trump is elected

427 total clients served by the SFILDC

SFILDC receives its second grant

With the funding, two new agencies join the collaborative. Representation for detained and all San Francisco residents is now provided by SFILDC partners.

California TRUTH Act goes into effect

California’s Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds (TRUTH) Act ensures that local law enforcement agencies provide individuals in their custody with basic due process and information about their rights, should federal immigration authorities seek to contact them.

The Northern California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice’s funding comes into effect

Three attorneys began their work along with their supporting staff. Overview

California approves $45 million in state funding to expand legal services to immigrants

The San Francisco Immigrant Legal Defense Collaborative receives supplemental funding to continue its works serving the community

The San Francisco Rapid Response Network is revamped

SFILDC joins the network and creates a system to provide emergency legal assistance to people detained by ICE in San Francisco.

California approves $45 million in state funding to expand legal services to immigrants

699 total clients served by the SFILDC

Large scale enforcement actions reported in Northern California

California sanctuary state law leads ICE to increase presence.

Large scale enforcement actions reported in Northern California

Families in detention facilities are separated

Many families in detention are separated by Department of Homeland Security. Parents and children are separated and sent to separate detention facilities. Children are left alone without their parents and in several instances, due to clerical errors and deficient DHS practices, children are left alone in detention even after their parents were released from detention.

Family separation in detention facilities

Many families in detention are separated by DHS, parents and children are sent to separate detention facilities. Children are left alone without their parents and in several instances, due to clerical errors and deficient DHS practices, children are left alone in detention even after their parents were released from detention.

The Contra Costa detention facility (COCO) closes

About the closure

FAMU dockets

The Trump administration implements the “Family Unit” dockets to tackle the backlog at the immigration court. Under FAMU cases must reach a final decision—either deportation or protection in the United States—within an unreasonable period of time.

1117 total clients served by the SFILDC

Remain in Mexico policy is implemented

The policy requires migrants seeking asylum to remain in Mexico until their US immigration court date. The program is widely criticized by human rights organizations for exposing migrants to attacks while they await processing.

Changes to Ankle Monitor policies implemented — Alternative to Detention (ATD)

Threats of mass enforcement action in San Francisco

News outlets report potential large-scale enforcement actions in liberal cities, including San Francisco, triggering panic among the community. The San Francisco Immigrant Legal Defense Collaborative and the CCIJ created a plan to respond to large scale enforcement.

NCRRIDN and CCIJ merge

Northern California Rapid Response and Immigrant Defense Network (NCRRIDN) and the Northern California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice merge.

Sacramento Court opens

The Executive Office for Immigration Review opens an Immigration Court in Sacramento, CA.

1232 total clients served by the SFILDC

The COVID pandemic hits the United States

The immigration Court closes its doors and virtual hearings begin.

Title 42 is implemented by the Trump administration

Title 42 is used by immigration authorities to swiftly remove migrants crossing the border from Mexico – including asylum seekers – using the pandemic as justification.

1291 total clients served by the SFILDC

Family Unit Dockets (FAMU) is implemented

The Biden administration implements the “Family Unit” dockets to tackle the backlog at the immigration court. Under FAMU cases must reach a final decision—either deportation or protection in the United States—within an unreasonable period of time.

The SFILDC hires 10 new attorneys to increase its capacity

The Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights re-joins the San Francisco Immigrant Legal Defense Collaborative.

1399 total clients served by the SFILDC

First trip to the south border

The San Francisco Immigrant Legal Defense Collaborative sent a group of its attorneys to the south border to assist legal local organizations providing aid to the immigrant community in Tijuana, Mexico.

The SFILDC gradually reopened its doors

Following local authorities guidance the partners of the San Francisco Immigrant Legal Defense Collaborative reopen their doors.

1599 total clients served by the SFILDC

Title 42 ends

The end of the Covid-19 pandemic brings an end to the immigration policy known as Title 42 and the US returns to its pre-pandemic Title 8 law that governs asylum and deportations.