Elected officials joined labor leaders on the steps of San Francisco City Hall Tuesday to reaffirm the city's sanctuary status.
The move comes after a series of incidents involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last weekend.
At Tuesday's event, words of solidarity and affirmation were expressed from all corners of city government.
"In San Francisco, we value our immigrant communities," Mayor Daniel Lurie said.
"This city and this police department remains steadfast in its commitment to being a sanctuary city," police Chief Bill Scott added. "That is who we are, and that is who we will always be."
The show of solidarity was organized by the leadership of the local Service Workers International Union, who said some of their members became alarmed Friday when they say ICE agents showed up at two commercial buildings in the city.
Olga Miranda, president of Local SEIU 87, said union janitors who work at those buildings relayed their concerns to leadership. Miranda said building management initially turned the agents away.
"They did not come in uniform," Miranda said. "They had nothing on them to be able to easily identify them as authority. They had to show badges at one of the buildings. They had to go a second time, and I guess they had an arrest warrant."
Miranda said no one was detained.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
In another incident, video showed ICE agents taking someone into custody in the Tenderloin this past weekend.
Organizers of Tuesday's event said they want to reaffirm San Francisco as a welcoming city to immigrants and teach people what their rights are if something does happen.
"This is not about skirting ICE," said Lariza Dugan Cuadra with the Central American Resource Center. "This is about people affirming their rights – the right to remain silent, the right to not sign a document, the right to an attorney, the right to a phone call."
Organizers said they also want to encourage people not to spread rumors but to verify any stories of ICE enforcement actions through credible sources. Organizers said that will help tamp down the level of panic some are seeing in the immigrant community.