In San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood on Monday, masked agents arrested the son of a woman identified as Luz. She said agents shoved him against a window and onto the pavement, breaking his glasses. An eyewitness said one plainclothes agent ran across the street with a gun drawn; surveillance footage of the arrest was widely viewed.

Luz’s son has lived in the United States since he was 6 and worked on farms in Monterey County. He has a son of his own.

Lisa Knox, co-executive director of the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, said the regional rapid-response hotlines she tracks have received more reports of immigration arrests since the weekend. The network includes eight hotlines. Attorneys cautioned that it is too early to establish how this week’s activity compares with recent weeks.

Federal data analyzed by Mission Local and released by UC Berkeley showed that immigration arrests in major Bay Area cities increased 81% from July 2025 to July 2026. That data is the latest available and does not capture the recent reports.

The recent cases described by attorneys include arrests away from the immigration offices and court locations where many earlier arrests occurred. Jonathan Abel, who directs the Habeas Institute at UC Law San Francisco, said agents appear to be making more arrests at homes, during traffic stops and at workplaces—settings where more officers may be present and confrontations more likely.

In one case detailed in court filings, six agents surrounded an Oakland truck driver in his car on Saturday. The filings say agents showed him a photograph of what appeared to be a largely blank warrant, broke his car window with a hammer and used a baton while trying to pull his leg out. He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital unable to walk. A federal judge ordered his release Tuesday, according to his attorney and court records.

Another Oakland resident was hospitalized at Highland Hospital after, attorney Nikolas De Bremaeker said, agents tackled him and an officer sat on his chest, fracturing six ribs. De Bremaeker, an attorney with Centro Legal de la Raza, said he has seen an increase both in arrests and in violence during them.

Court filings also describe a Sonoma County woman who said immigration agents surrounded her vehicle and pointed guns at her while looking for her boyfriend. Later that morning, officers pulled her boyfriend from his car in a Santa Rosa parking lot and handcuffed him, the filings say. He was not physically injured but suffered a panic attack.

Attorneys say pressure on agents to increase arrests may be contributing to the tactics. Earlier this month, a reported nationwide target of 3,000 arrests per day was introduced. The target has not been established as the cause of any particular local arrest.

Deputy Public Defender Francisco Ugarte said public defenders saw two Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the lobby of the San Francisco jail on Tuesday. Their presence prompted concerns about whether enforcement there could conflict with city and state sanctuary policies. Ugarte compared the recent activity to ICE operations in 2007 and 2008, when agents came to the Bay Area to identify and arrest people.

Not all observers agree that the current activity amounts to a regional surge. But attorneys say the reported use of force has heightened concern. Mili Atkinson, who leads the San Francisco Immigrant Legal Defense Collaborative, urged people who witness or learn of a possible ICE sighting to contact their county rapid-response hotline.

Juan Carlos, who witnessed the arrest of Luz’s son outside his Sixth Street apartment, said he worries about children walking through the neighborhood to Bessie Carmichael Elementary School. He said the sight of someone running with a gun would be frightening for them.