A new mural in San Francisco is getting lots of attention as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on the fight over birthright citizenship this summer.

Wong Kim Ark, born in San Francisco’s Chinatown, cemented birthright citizenship in the U.S. more than 120 years ago.

“I am an American” is written in both English and Chinese with Wong Kim Ark’s portrait at the corner of Sacramento Street and Grant Avenue. The mural is located near the corner where Wong Kim Ark was born in the 1870s to Chinese immigration parents.

Norman Chuck, known as “Vogue,” along with Elaine Chu and Marina Perez-Wong of Twin Walls Mural Company, have been working on the project for the past month.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Wong Kim Ark,” Chu said.

“It tells us that we belong here and we matter just as much as the next person,” Vogue said.

“Both my parents were immigrants from China,” Vogue went on to say. “I am a first-born American, so it directly relates to me.”

The mural and a bronze plaque are on display at the Chinatown corner for people to stop and learn.

Wong Kim Ark was refused entry back into the U.S. after a trip to China under the Chinese Exclusion Act. Wong Kim Ark challenged the Supreme Court on his right to be called an American citizen and won his case in 1898.

“We want this mural to not also educate but also be a part of the community where people can see themselves reflected in these spaces, in Wong Kim Ark,” Chu said.

“A lot of our aunts, uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents came through Angel Island, and that shouldn’t be something that’s looked at as a negative,” Perez-Wong said. “We’re what makes this community vibrant.”

California and other states are suing President Donald Trump over his executive order to end birthright citizenship. For San Francisco, it means the story of “Wong Kim Ark” is more relevant than ever.  Gia Vang reports. 

The artists collaborated with the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum (CHSA), community and family members on the project. Each image on the wall has a story to tell, reflecting Wong Kim Ark’s life like his village and passport photos. There are also images that reflect the Chinatown community, like a vendor or family.

“The story of immigrants, the story of people who were born here who shouldn’t be considered foreign because they were born here, it’s birthright citizenship,” Perez-Wong.

The artists hope when people walk by, they will see the layers of history that spark curiosity and celebration.

“This is a legacy mural for me,” Vogue said.

“I had a little kid walk by and he read, ‘I am an American,’ and I just remember he boldly and proudly said, ‘I’m a Chinese American,’ when he walked by with his mom,” Chu said.

San Francisco leaders on Friday commemorated nearly 130 years since the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed birthright citizenship to everyone born in the country, including the children of all immigrants. Sergio Quintana reports.

SAN FRANCISCO – Cal/OSHA is fining Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and the University of California San Francisco for violations of worker safety laws in connection to an employee’s deadly stabbing last year. 

Hospital fined

What we know:

A social worker died after being stabbed by a patient last December at the hospital’s Ward 86 HIV care clinic. 

KTVU has obtained the citation documents that show Cal/OSHA found that the hospital lacked adequate protections to identify, investigate and manage potentially dangerous patients and proposed more than $130,000 in fines. Cal/OSHA found seven violations, including six serious citations at the hospital. 

The occupational and safety health division also cited UCSF for lacking an effective workplace violence prevention plan with fines of nearly $143,000. Cal/OSHA found UCSF had eight violations and seven serious citations. 

“A social worker at ZSFG (Zuckerberg SF General) was stabbed multiple times by a patient with a knife,” a spokesperson for Cal/OSHA’s statement read. “The social worker, an employee of the Regents of the University of California–San Francisco (UCSF), died of injuries two days later. UCSF’s physicians and other medical professionals provide some of the medical care at ZSFG.”

Cal/OSHA said their workplace violence prevention protocol for healthcare facilities has been in place since 2017. 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – MAY 16: A view of the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center on May 16, 2018 in San Francisco, California. In the wake of widespread data breaches at Facebook, patients and nurses at Zuckerberg San Francisco G

The backstory:

Alberto Rangel, 51, was stabbed and killed on Dec. 9, 2025 at the hospital by a suspect, identified as Wilfredo Tortolero-Arreichi, 35. 

Police said Tortolero-Arreichi was walking with the social worker toward an elevator when the suspect grabbed the victim from behind and stabbed him numerous times in the neck. Rangel died at the hospital two days later. 

Remembering the victim 

Rangel was described by colleagues as someone who treated everyone with love and absolute care and as someone who went above and beyond for his colleagues and patients. He ran support groups in English and Spanish. 

Outside of work, he was remembered as an artist, an athlete and for his sense of humor and sharp fashion sense. 

Activists demanded safety accountability at the hospital in the aftermath of Rangel’s fatal stabbing. 

In December, Tortolero-Arreichi, failed to appear in court as the defendant when he was still locked up in a hospital psychiatric ward. 

Tortolero-Arreichi remains in custody at the San Francisco County Jail. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, it has requested San Francisco to honor an immigration detainer against the suspect once he has been tried and serves any potential sentence. ICE said the suspect is an illegal immigrant from Venezuela with a criminal record.