Brenda Dominguez, 26, is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who came to San Francisco two years ago because she heard it was a “sanctuary city.” Sanctuary cities accept and provide services to immigrants regardless of their legal status. But even though Dominguez knows her new home is a city of refuge, she is still afraid of “la migra” – immigration officials.

Before she came to San Francisco, Dominguez, like many other undocumented immigrants, feared for her safety.

“If someone would do something bad to me, like laugh at me or insult me, I would not say anything to anyone because I was scared that they might call immigration. I just would not defend myself,” she said.

In May 2006, Mayor Gavin Newsom reaffirmed San Francisco’s status as a sanctuary city. In a public statement issued by his office in support of a May 1 rally for immigrant rights, the mayor said: “We are proud to provide city services and public protection to all people, no matter where they are from, and we don’t ask for anyone’s legal status.”

Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Saint Paul have also designated themselves as cities that are safe for illegal immigrants.

An estimated 11.1 million undocumented immigrants lived in the United States in 2005, and illegal immigrants made up 5 to 8 percent of California’s population, according to a 2005 study by the Pew Hispanic Center.

Even though San Francisco is considered a haven, many immigrants don’t know their rights.

Larisa Casillas, director of the Bay Area Immigrants Rights Coalition, said undocumented immigrants do have rights. Those include the right to be silent, the right to an attorney, and the right to not sign any document or paper.

Dominguez said that immigration officials tricked her friend into signing her own deportation papers.

“They caught my friend. They told her that she had to sign a document and that way she could go out quicker,” Domiguez said.

It’s stories like these that feed the fear.

“Sometimes they don’t want to go to work because they are scared of being caught,” Casillas said. “The undocumented kids or even the citizen kids of illegal immigrants are afraid of going to school because of the fear of not seeing their parents again. The community is traumatized because of the raids.”

In raids, immigration officials often detain people who cannot show papers verifying legal permission to live or work in the United States. “La migra” is still mysterious to most people, which contributes to the climate of fear.

“I’ve heard rumors of raids in places where undocumented people work,” Dominguez said. “I’ve heard that they stand in the door to not let anyone escape. I’ve heard that they wear green clothes.”

San Francisco resident Carla Higi, 28, sympathizes with the illegal immigrants, but has a few reservations of her own.

“With the proper documentation I think I’m all for it, but without it, anybody can come here,” Higi said. “Maybe there are some people who are trying to get jobs, but there is also the question of who else is coming in.”

Several attempts to contact local immigration and customs enforcement officials were unsuccessful.

Dominguez has a message for “la migra.”

“My message for the people who are trying to catch us is that we, the illegal immigrants, just want an opportunity to work here,” she said.