San Francisco, California: UC Berkeley Student Held After ICE Detention at San Francisco Airport

A UC Berkeley student is being held in federal immigration custody after agents detained her at San Francisco International Airport on Friday, October 30, her attorney and the university said. Paula Valentina Albornoz Hernandez, 23, came to the United States from Colombia to study business administration at UC Berkeley, her attorney Niko De Bremaeker of Centro Legal de la Raza told The Daily Californian. Detention records show she is held at the California City Immigration Processing Center, a facility north of Los Angeles County, the student newspaper reported.

Chancellor Rich Lyons said in a campuswide email sent early on Monday, November 2 that the student was detained at the airport while she was about to travel out of state. Lyons said UC Berkeley has been working with her family and is providing legal support so she has access to advice and representation. "This student is a valued member of our community," Lyons wrote. He said campus leadership is doing everything within its power to support her so she can return to her life at Berkeley and continue her studies. De Bremaeker said Lyons also wrote a letter of support saying he is deeply concerned about her situation and that it may unnecessarily interfere with her education.

What her attorney says

De Bremaeker said Albornoz Hernandez was detained for an overstayed visa and is applying for asylum because of gender based violence she experienced in Colombia. He confirmed she has a work permit. "The arrest is unconstitutional and unlawful," De Bremaeker said. "She has built up a life in the country. She has applied for asylum. She has a work permit. She has a right to remain in the country during these proceedings." He said she is struggling in custody and is extremely distressed.

The Hindustan Times also reported the arrest on Tuesday, November 3, describing her as a UC Berkeley student held at the San Francisco airport who was seeking asylum based on severe gender based violence in Colombia.

The wider airport picture

The detention follows the start of Operation Safe California, a 45 day immigration enforcement operation across California first reported by the Washington Examiner on October 7, The Daily Californian reported. It is not the first immigration enforcement arrest at the San Francisco airport. Politicians including Senator Alex Padilla have visited the airport in transit lounge, described as a windowless room in the international terminal that is used to hold detainees, the newspaper reported.

ICE did not respond to a request for comment as of press time, The Daily Californian reported. The newspaper called the case a developing story. For Berkeley students and families in San Francisco, the confirmed facts on Tuesday are narrow but serious: a 23 year old student with a work permit and a pending asylum claim is in a detention center far from campus, her university chancellor has written in her support, and the agency that detained her has not yet explained the arrest in public.