Video shows ICE detaining woman, child at San Francisco airport. Here's what we know

On March 22, 2026, a video (archived) began circulating online that claimed to show U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents detaining a woman and child at San Francisco International Airport in California. 

The video, which showed two men restraining and handcuffing a weeping woman against a bench as a young girl looked on, circulated as President Donald Trump announced his administration would deploy ICE agents to multiple U.S. airports to assist Transportation Security Administration officers.

A TikTok user who appeared to have recorded the footage wrote in the caption that the incident took place on March 22 at Gate E2 at San Francisco International Airport. The user wrote, "SF Police shielded these unidentified men as they illegally detained a woman with a young child at SFO airport." 

The video spread across X (archived), Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), Threads (archived), Reddit (archived) and Bluesky (archived). Many social media users also claimed the woman and child in the video were mother and daughter. Snopes readers wrote in, asking whether the footage authentically showed ICE action in March 2026.

The video was authentic and captured at San Francisco International Airport. There was no evidence that it was created or altered using artificial intelligence or other digital editing tools.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed ICE officers arrested two people at the airport on March 22, 2026, and shared a separate video showing the encounter. Airport officials and the San Francisco Police Department also acknowledged an incident involving federal officials on that date.

As of this writing, we were unable to confirm that the pair were mother and daughter, as many posts claimed. DHS described them as being part of a "family unit" but did not clarify how they were related. 

Given that the video is authentic and shows the arrest at the airport, we've rated this claim true, with the caveat that we could not independently confirm the familial relationship between the woman and child. 

On March 24, the New York Times reported that TSA agents had "tipped off" ICE agents that the woman and child in the video were due to fly on March 22, leading to their arrest in the San Francisco International Airport terminal. The alleged tip-off wasn't part of the Trump administration's plans to deploy ICE agents to assist TSA at airports, according to the news outlet. The Times also reported that the woman and child were deported to Guatemala on March 24. Snopes has not independently verified the details within this report.

We confirmed the video was captured at San Francisco International Airport by comparing storefront signage, a wall mural and furniture seen in the video to Google Maps images. An airport map also showed that San Francisco Travel News and Pete's Coffee, the storefronts seen in the video, were near Gate E2.

(Images courtesy of Google Maps/TikTok user @argw6)

In a March 23 post on X (archived), DHS confirmed ICE officers arrested two people, including one they claimed had tried to flee and resisted law enforcement officers, at San Francisco International Airport on March 22. According to DHS, the people ICE arrested were from Guatemala and had been under a final removal order issued by an immigration judge since 2019. DHS shared a video showing a different angle of the encounter, which featured the same people and airport landmarks — such as furnishings and storefronts — as the TikTok video.

San Francisco International Airport (archived) and the San Francisco Police Department (archived) both confirmed in statements shared on X that an incident involving federal agents had occurred at the airport on March 22. The airport said it did not suspect the incident was part of "broader enforcement action." According to SFPD, its officers weren't involved in the incident but remained on the scene to "maintain public safety."

Snopes contacted DHS to ask whether the woman the agents handcuffed was the mother of the young girl also seen in the footage and whether agents had since deported the pair, and await a reply. DHS said on X that the two people ICE agents arrested were part of a "family unit" but did not clarify how they were related.

Snopes also contacted two social media users who appeared to have recorded different angles of the incident (including the person who appeared to have recorded the TikTok video above) for more information. We will update this report if we receive a response.

Video circulated as ICE deployed to US airports

The videos circulated as Trump announced his administration would deploy ICE agents to assist TSA agents at U.S. airports beginning on March 23 — one day after the arrest in San Francisco. DHS said in its X post that the incident at San Francisco International Airport happened "before ICE officers were deployed to airports to bolster TSA efforts."

TSA agents were among government staff working without pay during a partial government shutdown in March 2026, as a bill to fund DHS remained stalled in the Senate. Call-out rates for TSA agents at some airports reportedly rose as the shutdown dragged on, leading to longer screening times for passengers.

According to White House border czar Tom Homan, ICE agents would "help TSA do their job in areas that don't need their specialized expertise," such as crowd control. Border control at airports typically falls under the domain of Customs and Border Protection. 

On March 23, Trump appeared to give mixed messaging about whether ICE agents would assist with immigration control, saying that the agents "love" the new deployment because "they're able to now arrest illegals as they come into the country." 

Trump continued: "That's very fertile territory. But that's not why they're there."

CNN reported that ICE agents had deployed to 14 U.S. airports by March 23. San Francisco International Airport was not on that list.