A UC Berkeley student was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) at San Francisco International Airport Friday, October 30, while she was waiting to board a flight to Portland with her boyfriend, her attorney has revealed, according to Berkeleyside. 23-year-old Paula Valentina Albornoz Hernandez is being held at ICE’s California City Detention Center, agency records show.
The application remains pending. De Bremaeker and university spokesperson Aileen Zerrudo noted that this is most likely the first ICE detention of an active UC Berkeley student since the Trump administration began its mass deportation push in 2025. Paula, a business administration student, arrived in the United States from Colombia in 2022, according to De Bremaeker.
He added that the student overstayed her visa and applied for asylum based on experiencing “severe gender-based violence” in her country.
De Bremaeker added that Paula had a valid work permit. She had attended San Jose City College before transferring to Berkeley, where she had been conducting research on artificial intelligence.
