A group of local queer and trans protesters gathered outside the San Francisco Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency field office at 630 Sansome yesterday evening to speak to press and strategize over the case of Hilary Rivers, which had stunned the community.
Yesterday morning, Rivers, a local resident and drag performer who had been detained by ICE at a scheduled immigration appointment. His whereabouts were unknown. (Rivers uses he/him pronouns, and his non-drag name is not being used in order to protect confidentiality until he can be located.)
The night before, Rivers had competed in the Miss & Mr. Safe Latino 2025 Pageant, the 30th annual event promoting health and wellness in LGBTQ+ Latinx community. Local activist and educator Persia, who hosted the pageant, told me, “Because we don’t know where he is, the first thing we want to do is locate him and make sure he is safe.”
Ani Rivera of Galería de la Raza in the Mission which produced the pageant, told me, “We know that he showed up here [at 630 Sansome] for a scheduled immigration appointment with his immigration lawyer, and was taken into ICE custody. his lawyer has been out of contact with him since then, and unable to locate him. He could be here or at the Mesa Verde ICE processing center.
“Right now, we want to locate him so that he can make the decision about how his information is shared,” Rivera said, “so we can protect his identity under confidentiality. We also want to make sure he is safe and has any necessary medications or items.
“But we are also urging concerned community members to flood the SF ICE field office [1-415-365-8800] and Mesa Verde ICE detention center [1-888-351-4024] with calls and ask to know where he is, describing the details of what happened: ‘I am calling to inquire about the whereabouts of a San Francisco resident who was taken into custody Thursday morning at the San Francisco field office during a scheduled immigration meeting. Our beloved community member is a performer who goes by the name Hilary Rivers. Can you tell me where he is?'”
Rivera continued, “We are at a non-confrontational stage right now where we just want to ensure his safety. We will be growing our presence and community involvement as this continues. We urge people to support local institutions like Instituto Familiar de la Raza and La Raza Community Resource Center that are doing the work to defend immigrants.”
48 Hills has reached out to the mayor and local government officials for comment and will be updating this story.
