The 2022 contract between the city and private parking operator IMCO Parking governs 11 municipal garages and one parking lot, including the Golden Gateway Garage at 250 Clay St., where ICE vehicles have been parked for at least a year. The agreement contains a termination-for-convenience clause stating that the city "shall have the option, in its sole discretion, to terminate this Agreement, at any time during the term hereof, for convenience and without cause."

The arrangement may violate San Francisco's sanctuary laws, which bar city resources or property from being used for immigration enforcement. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which owns the garage, appears not to have known about ICE's use until it was reported on Oct. 30. A sub-contract between IMCO and the federal General Services Administration, approved by the city under unknown terms, allowed the federal government to allocate parking spaces for ICE and other federal agencies.

Canceling the IMCO agreement, however, would carry complications. Scott Emblidge, a former city attorney now in private practice who reviewed the contract, said termination "appears to require termination of the entire agreement, not individual parking garages." That would affect parking operations across the city and carry financial consequences, as the SFMTA relies on off-street parking revenue.

"Any termination would have financial impact for the city," Emblidge said.

Instead of canceling the contract, the SFMTA sent a letter to the General Services Administration on Nov. 2 stating that ICE's presence was "inconsistent with the City's laws and policies" and asking it to "immediately remove" any ICE vehicles from the garage. The agency has declined to explain why it has not exercised its termination option.

Mayor Daniel Lurie's office did not respond when asked whether he would terminate the contract. Lurie reiterated to reporters on Tuesday that "we have asked them to make sure they get their vehicles out."

Federal vehicles, including dozens of American-made SUVs with tinted windows, were still parked at the Golden Gateway Garage on Nov. 6. The garage sits a few blocks from a downtown ICE field office where the agency processes immigrants arrested across the Bay Area.

Since the SFMTA's letter, ICE has continued using the garage, and at least five immigration arrests have occurred in the Bay Area, according to Shira Levine, co-founder of the Bay Area Habeas Network, which responds to ICE arrests. Levine said the true number is likely higher.

The contract also requires the contractor to "at all times comply" with local law, including sanctuary ordinances. Violation of the compliance-with-laws provision constitutes an "immediate" default under the agreement, according to immigration attorney Angela Chan.

Immigration advocates have documented ICE activity at the site for at least a year. They recently linked a vehicle involved in the Oct. 16 arrest of a Honduran immigrant in Oakland—an arrest that left the man hospitalized—to a vehicle observed leaving the San Francisco garage.

Former Supervisor David Campos, who served as a deputy city attorney from 2008 to 2017, called ICE's use of the garage "horrible and offensive." He said any contract facilitating ICE operations on city property could itself be deemed illegal and that the city should withdraw from the agreement.

"I hope that there are consequences for the person or persons that allowed that to happen," Campos said.