San Francisco Family Faces Separation Amid Increased Immigration Enforcement at Christmas
Joel, a Honduran immigrant, was detained by federal immigration agents outside his San Francisco apartment in June and is currently held in a Texas detention center. His family faces the risk of deportation while his partner Roxana pursues asylum. The couple's 10-month-old daughter, Briana, can only connect with Joel during nightly video calls and recognizes him on screen. The family resides in San Francisco's Mission District in a two-bedroom apartment near Lake Merced, paying $3,100 monthly rent. Roxana's two teenage children and Joel's adult daughter also live with them.
Immigrant families like Joel's receive support from Faith in Action, a faith-based community group that provides affordable housing and legal defense; donors have contributed $15,000 to an immigrant legal fund. This support comes amid increased immigration enforcement in the Bay Area, including ICE raids, court check-ins, and detentions. Since late May, more than 120 people have been arrested at ICE's San Francisco office or at the city immigration court, according to Mission Local.
Religious and community groups have responded by holding Masses for immigrant rights at St Peter's and across California on the Feast of St Juan Diego, alongside organizing protests at ICE offices. Joel and Roxana met in San Francisco; he arrived in the U.S. as a teenager, and they have lived together since the Covid pandemic, forming a family that includes two teens and an adult daughter. This Christmas, the family has described the holiday as different and feels broken due to Joel's detention and their enforced separation.
