Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii says detaining the student does nothing to make the community safer and calls on ICE to release her
Adena IshiiMayor of Berkeley, in a statement reported by KTVU
Ishii says detaining a student under these circumstances does nothing to make Berkeley safer and spreads fear among immigrant families and students, and she calls on ICE to release Albornoz Hernandez so she can return to her studies.
“Detaining a student under these circumstances does nothing to make our community safer. It creates fear among immigrant families and students who call Berkeley home ... I'm calling on ICE to release her so she can return to her studies while her case moves forward”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Judge orders ICE to release a UC Berkeley student arrested at SFO; DHS says she overstayed her visa and calls the judge an activist
On October 30, 2026, ICE agents arrested Paula Albornoz Hernandez, a 23-year-old UC Berkeley business administration student from Colombia, at San Francisco International Airport as she waited to board a flight to Portland, Oregon. She has a pending asylum application and a work permit. DHS says she overstayed a visa that expired in March 2023 and that neither her work authorization nor her asylum application gives her legal status. ICE held her at its California City detention facility in Kern County. Her lawyers filed a habeas petition on November 2. On November 6, U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins of the Eastern District of California granted it, holding that due process required ICE to give her notice and a hearing before a neutral arbiter, at which bond must be considered, before detaining her. The order, entered November 9, required her immediate release under her prior conditions, with no electronic monitoring, and the return of her passport and other documents. She was released that day. DHS called Coggins a Biden-appointed activist judge and said it complies with all lawful court orders. Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii had called on ICE to release her so she could return to her studies.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
KTVU report on the arrest with statements from a DHS spokesperson, her attorney, SFO, Chancellor Lyons and Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
KTVU reported the arrest after the university and the student's attorney confirmed it. Chancellor Rich Lyons told the campus that the university had mobilized legal support for her.
After the quotation
Ishii said Berkeley is a sanctuary city and will continue to stand with its immigrant neighbors and students.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is ICE's arrest of Paula Albornoz Hernandez at San Francisco International Airport on October 30, 2026 and her detention without a hearing, which Judge Dena Coggins ordered ended. Ishii says the detention makes no one safer and asks ICE to release the student, which condemns it.
- Recorded on
- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseDHS calls Judge Coggins a Biden-appointed activist judge and defends detaining people at airports
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
“a Biden-appointed activist judge ... complies with all lawful court orders ... This administration is working diligently to ensure that aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii says detaining the student does nothing to make the community safer and calls on ICE to release her
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/8702-ishii-says-detaining-a-student-under-these-circumstances
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii says detaining the student does nothing to make the community safer and calls on ICE to release her". First published: 2026-11-12. Last updated: 2026-11-12. https://disputeindex.com/events/8702-ishii-says-detaining-a-student-under-these-circumstances