Federal immigration agents arrested a 38-year-old Ukrainian woman inside San Francisco International Airport's Harvey Milk Terminal on the evening of July 22, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson.
The arrest drew sharp criticism from elected officials who say it reflects a growing pattern of immigration enforcement at the Bay Area's busiest airport, located in San Mateo County.
Iryna Gorb was taken into custody by plainclothes ICE agents near Gate B7 at approximately 7:45 p.m. as she returned from a trip to Portland, DHS confirmed to NBC Bay Area. The agency said Gorb entered the U.S. lawfully in 2010 on a visa that allowed her to stay until May 31, 2011, and that she overstayed for 15 years.
Richmond City Councilmember Doria Robinson, who was at the terminal and witnessed the arrest, posted video on social media showing Gorb on the ground while agents pinned her down. In the video, Gorb can be heard yelling "You're choking me!" and "Please help me!"
"They just tackled her and dragged her off handcuffed to an airport wheelchair in the middle of the Harvey Milk terminal across from Gate B7," Robinson wrote on Thursday, July 23.
Robinson told NBC Bay Area on Friday, July 24, that the agents did not display visible identification or respond when bystanders asked them to identify themselves. She estimated hundreds of travelers witnessed the arrest.
DHS said Gorb "attempted to flee and resisted arrest." She is being held at California City Detention Facility in Kern County pending removal proceedings.
SFO says it has no role in ICE operations
SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said in an email that ICE and DHS are federal agencies operating outside the jurisdiction of U.S. airports. The airport is not involved in decisions about their operations and is not notified when they occur, Yakel said.
No statement from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office regarding the arrest has been located.
Officials and advocates respond
State Sen. Scott Wiener said Friday, July 24, that Gorb "committed no crime" and criticized ICE for attempting to deport her to Ukraine, which he called a war zone.
Milli Atkinson, director of the Immigrant Legal Defense Program at the San Francisco Bar Association, told KQED that airport ICE detentions have become a "consistent tactic" in the past month, attributing the trend to TSA cooperating with ICE at an unprecedented level.
Bay Area immigration attorney Ghassan Shamieh told NBC Bay Area that four of his clients have been detained at airports in recent weeks, including one at SFO the week before Gorb's arrest. None had criminal records, he said.
A similar ICE arrest occurred at SFO in March 2026, when agents detained a woman from a Guatemalan family with removal orders dating to 2019.
What's next
Gorb was scheduled to meet with an attorney on Saturday, July 26, according to her friend Andy Eblin. Friends are working to secure her release on bond.
Gorb's removal proceedings remain pending. No bond hearing date has been publicly announced.
