Many media outlets have reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has ramped up its efforts in San Diego as part of Operation Safe California in the 45-day window prior to the November election.
At first, I wondered if the headlines were an attempt by ICE to scare people and to drum up support from President Donald Trump’s base going into the midterms. The fear of a potential ICE raid in immigrant communities can be as paralyzing and life-altering as the devastation following an actual raid.
I and some of my peers have worried about journalists spreading this message before we knew whether arrests were actually increasing and the effects that could have on people’s lives and well-being if it turned out to be a ruse. But, we will likely have to wait months to have clear data confirming whether and how much ICE arrests increased because data about these arrests are not immediately available.
The Deportation Data Project gathers and releases federal data related to ICE activity. Its most recent information on ICE activity is from July.
Meanwhile, activists who document ICE activity around the county are starting to sound the alarm about increased enforcement now.
TikTok influencer Arturo Gonzalez told KPBS last week that what’s happening now is the biggest increase he has seen since he started documenting ICE at the beginning of the Trump administration.
The American Friends Service Committee issued an advisory to community members on Thursday that they should be prepared to exercise their rights, including the right to remain silent, amid ramped up ICE raids. The organization offers Know Your Rights information on its website and workshops throughout the community.
“Immigration agents are clearly racially profiling people off the street, targeting working class communities, and causing trauma and harm to families affected by their violent operations,” said Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee’s US-Mexico Border Program.
On Friday, a map where people can report ICE sightings had 28 sightings flagged across San Diego County. A month ago on Friday, Sept. 18, the county had three flags throughout the entire day.
On Friday, July 17, the county also had three flags throughout the entire day. According to the Deportation Data Project, that was the month with the most ICE arrests locally, statewide and nationwide in the data available.
ICE did not respond to a request for comment.
Though 45 days before the November election would fall in mid-September, ICE seems to have ramped up its efforts in San Diego and across California since well before that.
ICE arrests nationally have increased steadily since May, rising to nearly 50,000 — the highest monthly total under the current administration — in July, according to the Deportation Data Project.
The arrest trend in California follows a similar trajectory, with more than 4,000 arrested in the state in July after steadily increasing since February.
Almost half of those arrests occurred in the San Diego area, according to the data. The ICE San Diego Field Office made nearly 2,000 arrests in July.
Community members are pushing back against the raids.
On Wednesday, City Heights Defense Committee hosted a demonstration at the corner of University and Fairmount avenues to protest ICE sightings and arrests near local schools, including Hoover High School, John Marshall Elementary School and Ibarra Elementary School.
The Students’ Civil Liberties Union hosted a rally Thursday at City College, where ICE detained a student driving near campus and chased another through campus last month.
Aryan Dixit, executive director of the organization and a UC San Diego student, said that local colleges and universities have failed to protect their students from ICE.
“We’re here to talk about how Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been taking people from our families, has been taking people from our lives, our friends, our relatives, and kidnapping them to God knows where,” Dixit said.
Zavahna Chavarín, a student leader at City College with MeCHA and Students for Justice in Palestine, said campus officers should have escorted ICE officers off of campus instead of directing traffic during last months’arrest.
Jack Beresford, San Diego Community College District vice chancellor of marketing, communications and public affairs, said that Chancellor Gregory Smith said during a Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday that he’s open to meeting with any students or employees who want to discuss the issue, including how campus police should respond.
“We fully understand how upsetting this incident was and are doing everything in our legal power to protect our students and employees,” Beresford said via email. “This includes offering additional training and education so individuals know their rights, it includes updating our ICE response protocols, advocating for federal legislation that would keep ICE off campus, and adding signs at the entrances of our campuses.”
He added that the school provided legal support to the student detained by ICE.
Chavarín called for the school administration to place campus officers on leave during an investigation into the matter, set up a perimeter around campus that ICE cannot legally cross and organize community self defense training.
After the incident, the college installed signs on the campus that say immigration enforcement is prohibited on the school’s campus.
“$75,000 signs will not suffice,” Chavarín said.
The family of the detained student is raising funds for his case on GoFundMe. A judge ordered his release from custody on Friday.
Thank you for reading. I’m open for tips, suggestions and feedback on Instagram @katemorrisseyjournalist and on Bluesky @bgirledukate.
In Other News
El Niño: Alexandra Mendoza reported for The San Diego Union-Tribune that the promise of a wet winter caused by El Niño is prompting an extra layer of urgency in conversations over fixes to the Tijuana River sewage issue.
Activist raided: I wrote for Daylight San Diego that ICE agents raided the home and car of a local activist who has documented immigration enforcement operations.
Kidnapping migrants: A judge sentenced a San Diego man to 12 years in prison for his role in a scheme that involved kidnapping migrants trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border and requiring their families to pay ransom, City News Service reported via Times of San Diego.
Disappeared: Tijuana topped a recent list of Mexican cities with the highest number of disappeared people, Juan Miguel Hernández reported for El Sol De Tijuana.
Construction vests: Guillermo Méndez reported for NBC 7 that ICE officials are wearing construction safety vests to blend in while doing enforcement operations, including at a construction site in North Park.
Bittersweet homecoming: A Navy sailor who was aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during its record long deployment returned home to face her father’s recent deportation, CNN reported.
Olympic dreams: A Tijuana shooting athlete is rising as a young star with hopes of competing in the upcoming Olympics, Pablo Cordero reported for El Sol de Tijuana.
San Diego has so many families with mixed immigration status.
@granny
Ice Ice Baby! This is exactly what I voted for. Illegal immigration is the bane of America’s existence.