Agents from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration have taken part in immigration raids across San Diego as President Donald Trump’s promised deportation crackdown comes to fruition.
Details about the operations haven’t been divulged, but local activists said they’ve confirmed a dozen ICE enforcement actions since Thursday. The Department of Defense also dispatched 1,500 active-duty servicemembers as part of an effort to “secure the border and protect and defend the territorial integrity of the United States.”
Meanwhile: El Cajon’s City Council during a contentious Tuesday night meeting voted down a policy that allowed local police officers to help federal immigration agents deport undocumented people.
The policy was first proposed by Mayor Bill Wells at a council meeting two weeks ago. Instead of adopting it, council members voted to send it back to staff to ensure it clarified that any aid offered by local police would focus on violent criminals. The updated language also included that city officials did not intend to run afoul of Senate Bill 54, which limits local law enforcement from assisting with some facets of federal immigration enforcement.
Still, the policy inspired sharp divisions. Dozens of community members rallied in front of the El Cajon City Hall on Monday night to protest the policy and nearly 90 public commenters sounded off in support and opposition of the policy during Tuesday night’s board meeting.
Coronado Council Appointment Ruffling Feathers
When Republican Councilmember John Duncan won the Coronado mayoral race in November, the rest of the council faced a choice – what to do about the two remaining years of his five-year council term.
Last week, the council unanimously approved the nomination of Kelly Purvis, a longtime civic activist to fill his seat. Purvis, who oversees the city’s arts and culture programs and has worked for various other community organizations, was a largely uncontroversial choice. What was more controversial was the decision to appoint rather than to hold a special election.
Now, some critics are accusing council members of using the appointment process as a political power grab.
Housing Commission: Trump’s Pause No Issue for Now
The White House sent a shudder throughout the country when it released a memo that seemingly implied President Trump was halting all federally-funded grants, loans and assistance until his staff could review each item to make sure it doesn’t “advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies.”
The initial reading of the memo indicated all sorts of housing assistance, including Section 8 vouchers, that subsidize landlords who rent homes to low-income residents, would stop flowing.
The San Diego Housing Commission released a statement clarifying that’s not the case.
“The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) does not anticipate any immediate impacts on our programs, including federal rental assistance, as a result of the presidential direction to temporarily pause federal grants and loans for a variety of programs nationwide. SDHC has been advised that the pause does not apply to programs that provide direct benefits to individuals and families—including rental assistance—or to payments required by law.”
The latest: The president’s team clarified the letter a bit and then a federal judge blocked the order.
Song of the Week
Jordan Krimston is such an incredibly unique songwriter. His music has always felt awash in delightful contradictions – it can be simultaneously simple and complex, optimistic and melancholic, breezy and challenging. It’s when those contradictions are at their most evident that his music feels most potent. The first singles released from his latest album, “Count It All Joy,” are no different.
Jordan Krimston, “Boulder”: The second single from his latest album, “Boulder,” feels both frenetic and nonchalant. It’s a clear-eyed meditation on truth, meaning and aging laced with gorgeously circular guitar parts and dynamic, almost mechanical sounding drums. It’s a song that feels like only Krimston could have written. And while it’s sonically infectious, Krimston also repeatedly hits you with lines that stay bouncing around your head.
Like what you hear? Check out Jordan Krimston’s stacked album release show at Soda Bar on Friday, Jan. 31.
Do you have a “Song of the Week” suggestion? Shoot us an email and a sentence or two about why you’ve been bumping this song lately. Friendly reminder: all songs should be by local artists.
In Other News
- Mission Trails Regional Park is set to grow thanks to the city’s purchase of an additional 15 acres of land from a private seller. (City News Service)
- San Diego County Supervisors voted unanimously to develop a new wildfire preparedness plan, which includes dropping $15 to $20 million on a new helicopter for San Diego County Fire. (CBS 8)
- County supervisors unanimously voted to advance a series of behavioral health plans on Tuesday including to initiate talks with Paradise Valley Hospital about up to 30 new inpatient beds, open a handful of crisis beds at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center and explore options to add other services.
The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Will Huntsberry and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.