A Guatemalan woman arrested at San Francisco International Airport had been living illegally in the United States for seven years after ignoring a deportation order, federal documents reveal.

Years of Ignored Immigration Orders

Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and her daughter were apprehended by Border Patrol agents near San Luis, Arizona, on April 27, 2018. After being found in the country illegally, they were released with a notice to appear in court. The pair attended some initial immigration appointments but skipped others, according to The New York Times. In 2019, an immigration judge ordered their removal from the United States after they failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing, triggering a final deportation order.

Lopez-Jimenez and her daughter had been living in Contra Costa County, California, when they attempted to board a flight to Miami on March 22. TSA agents flagged their names on the passenger list and immediately notified Immigration and Customs Enforcement. When ICE agents arrived to detain them at the airport, Lopez-Jimenez attempted to flee. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed she resisted law enforcement officers while being escorted to the international terminal for processing.

Routine Deportation Sparks National Attention

The arrest drew widespread attention amid heightened scrutiny of ICE operations. President Trump had recently deployed immigration agents to 14 airports across the country during a partial government shutdown, as TSA workers called out of work in record numbers and caused significant delays at security checkpoints. However, ICE agents had not yet been deployed at San Francisco International Airport when Lopez-Jimenez was detained. The deportation itself was part of routine immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, not connected to the airport security crisis.

What This Means

Lopez-Jimenez and her daughter were deported to Guatemala on March 24, two days after their arrest. The case highlights ongoing challenges in immigration enforcement when individuals fail to comply with court orders and notices to appear. Despite online speculation linking the arrest to Trump’s emergency airport deployments, federal officials confirmed the detention resulted from standard TSA-ICE coordination procedures that existed before the recent policy changes. The incident demonstrates how fugitives from immigration proceedings can evade removal orders for years before being located through routine travel screening.