Ukrainian Woman’s Arrest at San Francisco Airport Raises Concerns

A video showing the arrest of a Ukrainian woman by immigration agents at San Francisco International Airport on Wednesday has gained attention, sparking questions about the arrest’s execution. This incident aligns with a rising number of similar stories nationwide since June.

The video captures a woman wearing a white shirt and dark pants on the ground near a store at SFO. Two men in plain clothes appear to hold her down. The woman cries, “You’re choking me!” and “Please help me!” as bystanders question the men’s authority and reason for the arrest. At one point, she declares, “I’m from Ukraine!”

Doria Robinson, a Richmond city council member, witnessed the arrest at approximately 7:45 p.m. while waiting to board her flight. She took a video of the incident, later shared widely on social media.

“I looked across and saw a woman being pulled to the ground by two men who then got on top of her as she screamed,” Robinson recalled after initially thinking this might involve domestic violence or human trafficking. Realizing something else was happening, Robinson began recording the situation on her phone. She estimated that hundreds of people at the terminal also observed the event.

Robinson noted that the men did not display any identification or uniforms, and despite inquiries, they did not reveal their agency affiliations. Eventually, the men handcuffed the woman, wheeling her away in a wheelchair.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson verified that on July 22, ICE arrested a Ukrainian woman named Iryna Gorb at SFO. According to the spokesperson, Gorb attempted to flee and resisted arrest when officers approached her. DHS stated Gorb legally entered the U.S. in 2010 on a visa valid until May 2011, but she overstayed by 15 years.

“She will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” reported the DHS spokesperson.

Several immigration attorneys have watched the arrest video on social media. Bay Area immigration attorney Ghassan Shamieh remarked, “You could hear the fear and the pain in the woman’s voice.” Although Shamieh does not represent Gorb, he found the video distressing. He and other attorneys have noticed an increase in detentions at airports lately, including four of his own clients, one of whom was detained at SFO.

Shamieh noted that none of his detained clients have criminal records, leading advocates and attorneys to caution against air travel, even domestically within the U.S.

Robinson expressed concern about Gorb’s future, stating, “What we do know is we were complicit in it, and there was nothing we could do to help her, and that was just demoralizing, just painful.”

An SFO spokesperson informed NBC Bay Area that the airport has no details on the incident other than what’s on social media. The spokesperson explained that as ICE and DHS are federal agencies, their operations are independent of U.S. airport jurisdiction, and airport personnel are not informed about such actions.