Two undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, escorting a woman and a young girl to an outbound flight at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday night, March 22, 2026, drew widespread attention after bystanders recorded the encounter—aligning with anti-ICE activist protocols.
The event unfolded around 10 p.m. in the secure area of Terminal 3 near Gate E2, where the agents—dressed in plain clothing—were forced to restrain the woman after she acted out the B.A.M.N “Stop, Block, Drive Out ICE” guidance on how to stop deportation.
IT HAS BEGUN: Federal agents arrested an illegal alien in San Francisco this morning while rabid Democrats lost their minds demanding agents’ names and badge numbers.
Hell yeah this is exactly what I voted for.
Enforcement is back, and the meltdown is glorious. pic.twitter.com/rJZYZoKPod
— Kim "Katie" USA (@KimKatieUSA) March 23, 2026
“If you are put on a commercial flight to be deported, make a scene and alert the other passengers, pilots and flight crew that you are being deported,” reads tip number 7 of the playbook written by activist group By Any Means Necessary.
The playbook, widely distributed to immigrant communities nationwide, is part of a broader “Beautiful Trouble” toolkit to stop and block Immigration and Customs Enforcement using “lamentation” media optics, school walkouts, and legal actions aimed at supporting legislative efforts by Democratic lawmakers.
“When women grieve in public and demand that their cries be addressed with action, they do so with undeniable moral authority and emotional power,” the lamentation tactic of Beautiful Trouble states.
Video footage shows the woman sobbing in distress as the two undercover agents attempt to get her and what appears to be her daughter to the gate. Agents, forced to place the noncompliant woman in a wheelchair following the outburst, were quickly surrounded by a mob.
The group of onlookers quickly surrounded the agents, shouting obscenities and demanding badge numbers as witnesses filmed the scene. San Francisco police officers responded to 911 calls from the crowd and formed a perimeter to ensure public safety, though they did not take part in the event itself due to the City’s non-cooperation stance.
Airport officials confirmed to local media that the action was a targeted ICE deportation operation. The agents were assisting in escorting the woman and child to an outbound flight as part of removal proceedings, a standard practice for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in airport settings.
Local officials also confirmed that the event was completely unrelated to the Trump administration’s plan to deploy ICE personnel to support TSA staff at airports amid a partial government shutdown. SFO, for example, uses private security rather than TSA, according to local reports.
ICE was at SFO airport last night, terrorizing a mother while her daughter watched. So much for the “hey we’re sending ICE to airports to fill in for TSA” BS.
ICE OUT OF CALIFORNIA pic.twitter.com/lcnjOV5HPs
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) March 23, 2026
Yet, that didn’t stop Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener from fueling online rhetoric. Sharing video of the incident to social media, Wiener described the event as “terrorizing a mother while her daughter watched,” further alleging the event was tied to Trump’s TSA support initiative.
Online reactions varied, with some condemning the handling of the family unit and others supporting enforcement actions. No details on the woman’s identity, nationality, or specific grounds for deportation—such as a final removal order or immigration violation—have been released by ICE yet.
However, the videos, spreading online like wildfire, highlight ongoing concerns over public relations as initial outrage – manufactured through political sensationalism – is rarely followed by factual updates.
