It was a win for the man’s Pasadena-based immigration lawyer Stacy Tolchin. The judge’s order came after Tolchin filed a habeas corpus petition to free her client. These petitions, which previously were a rarity in immigration courts, have now become a common response by lawyers to the Trump administration’s efforts to keep people detained indefinitely.

The next step for Tolchin was to go back to immigration court for the bond hearing. But that’s when her victory turned sour. The immigration judge issued a $50,000 bond for a man with no criminal record.

Tolchin has practiced immigration law since 2001. She’s seen high bonds before, but only in rare circumstances. And never for someone like her client — a man who has been in the country for 25 years, has a family, a job and no criminal record.

“I had a $50,000 bond when there was an Interpol red warrant for a foreign arrest for murder,” she said. “That was a $50,000 bond case. So that tells you where we are now.”

Plus, in immigration court, people have to pay the full bond, not 10% like in criminal court, she said.

Tolchin’s case is part of a broader pattern that’s emerged in recent months. Immigration judges are ordering much higher bond amounts, or denying them altogether.

Immigration lawyers say it is the latest maneuver by the Trump administration to meet its deportation quotas. It started in 2025, when ICE made it much more difficult for detainees to be released under bond or humanitarian programs within the immigration court system.

That’s when lawyers turned to federal courts and began filing habeas corpus petitions — a centuries-old legal remedy meant to protect people from being unlawfully imprisoned by the federal government.

Habeas petitions have become so common that federal courts in San Diego and Los Angeles have implemented new protocols to streamline the process — like requiring the government to respond within seven days or assigning cases to magistrate judges to increase the number of cases they hear, Tolchin said.

Lawyers have filed more than 50,000 habeas petitions in federal courts across the country, according to data from Immigration Justice Transparency Initiative, formerly known as Habeas Dockets.

And they seemed to be working — at first.

“The vast majority of our habeas petitions have been successful,” said Megan Day, an attorney at the Los Angeles-based Immigrant Defenders Law Center. “I think in our office we’ve had above a 90 percent success rate.”

Each case felt like validation — federal judges agreeing that their clients should not have been indefinitely held in immigration detention.

But even before this latest issue, those wins felt bittersweet, Day said.

The damage had already been done. Some clients had already been detained for months, separated from their families and unable to work.

The petitions take hours to put together. Which means immigration lawyers — who are already in extremely high demand — are unable to take on more cases.

“It just takes a lot of time, effort and resources,” she said. “We could take on more bond cases or work on people’s immigration relief applications.”

Day and other immigration lawyers told KPBS their clients have lost apartments and jobs while detained. And even after they’re released, some show signs of PTSD from their time in detention.

“It’s frustrating to have to go to one part of the government to tell another government agency what they should be doing,” she said.

In a statement, the Executive Office for Immigration Review — a subagency within the U.S. Department of Justice that oversees immigration courts — said the Trump administration is complying with court orders and fully enforcing immigration law. They called the allegations from immigration lawyers “baseless” attacks.

The 8-minute hearing

Cassandra Lopez is a lawyer with Al Otro Lado, a San Diego immigrant rights organization. She says one of her bond hearings was decided in less than 10 minutes.

It came down to whether her client was a flight risk. Lopez says in immigration courts, the judges normally put the burden of proof on the lawyers representing ICE. But that’s not what happened in this case.

The immigration judge didn’t ask ICE lawyers any questions. Instead, they put the burden on her client.

“The hearing lasted eight or nine minutes,” Lopez said.

She described this as an example of shifting culture within the immigration court system.

“We’ve seen the Trump administration fire immigration judges and hire deportation judges,” Lopez said. “We’re hiring judges that are just going to rubber-stamp our deportation apparatus.”

Lopez and other immigration lawyers have had clients lose hope, abandon their case and self-deport instead of staying in detention indefinitely. Sometimes, it feels like the goal, she said.

“That’s why the government is using immigration detention,” she said. “It’s not because these people are a danger or a flight risk.”

Tolchin says this is another example of how the immigration court system’s legitimacy is disappearing.

“We’re just really concerned that this really is a sham court at this point and it’s become an agent of the Trump administration,” she said.

It also explores how food traveled with those communities, along with her own journey to the U.S.

Ghosh said she came to the U.S. 30 years ago. She said homesickness from New Delhi inspired her to write about food.

“More than the smell, it's a noise. And there's chaos there,” Ghosh said. “It's a vibe, which is why I think this represents home to me.”

Growing up, her father taught her how to knock on fruit to choose the ripest one. Her mother made masala chai and sweets every day at 4 p.m. Ghosh said many of her stories led back to those memories.

“It always had to do with my childhood. It had to do with how I was growing up or the horrendously awful food that I used to make when I came here for grad school, because I didn't know how to cook," she said. "And then going back home and asking my mother how to h operate a pressure cooker so I could make some dal.”

As she pursued her education in America, Ghosh said she learned more about different aspects of her culture and the struggles tied to immigration in her community.

“The book came about because I started asking myself, like, what do these waves mean?," she said. "And these waves have to do with the laws that this country changed whenever they wanted to. It's happening now.“

Gosh said she also wants people to think more deeply about where their food comes from and the journey it took to reach the dinner table.

“It's easy to laugh at a child when the child says a chicken breast comes from the grocery store. But you have to ask yourself, why does the child think that?” she said. “It’s because you don't know where it came from or you never taught this child that. Respect the farmer who grew it, respect the earth that sustained it.”

Through her writing and conversations with others over the years, Ghosh created a supper club called Khabaar Co. Over dinner, guests talk with changemakers, such as food activists, chefs and writers. She said sharing a meal can open people to new perspectives.

“How do you talk about food enough for somebody to be interested in a culture that they have absolutely no clue (about) and, in fact, they had no interest in before this.”

Ghosh found that food can create conversations around difficult histories, such as colonization, but it can also uplift communities.

“So it's very important for me to tell that story, but when you talk about food, you're also talking about comfort, you're talking about longing and you're talking about belonging,” she said.

There is an abundance of recipes scattered throughout the book, teaching readers how to cook things like Desi tacos, various curries and rotis, all of which connect back to the waves of South Asian immigration

Ghosh said whether readers take away history or recipes from the book, she wants them to connect with her and with the people around them.

“I hope people go back and look at ‘Safar’ and find my journey to be similar to theirs, the questions that they've had about their identity similar to mine.”

The official book release event is June 11 at 6 p.m. at Library Shop in Mission Hills.

Business signs in both English and Arabic line the street. Conversations in Arabic, Dari and other languages and dialects drift in and out of shops and restaurants. Women wearing colorful scarves push their strollers.

And at the heart of the city in a small park, uncles and grandfathers puff their cigarettes, sip their coffee and sit together on park benches, huddling over games of backgammon.

These glimpses of downtown El Cajon offer a snapshot of the diverse refugee and immigrant communities that have come to the city. While El Cajon is a Republican stronghold, it has for decades also been a haven for Middle Eastern and North African refugees and immigrants — from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Afghanistan, among others.

The first to arrive in El Cajon in significant numbers in the 1970s and '80s were Chaldeans, Christians mainly from Iraq. They were followed by the Kurdish, Syrians, Afghans and others in the 1980s and '90s. But it wasn’t until the turn of the current century that this growing refugee and immigrant community was able to build lasting support networks.

“When I came, there were zero services to meet the needs of refugee and immigrant communities, especially when it comes to issues of domestic violence,” said Dilkhwaz Ahmed, CEO of License to Freedom, in an interview with KPBS. “I just realized something got to be done for my community. We need to create a space for them.”

Ahmed founded License to Freedom in 2002. In the decades since, the organization’s services have expanded to include language and business classes, housing navigation, therapy sessions and more.

Now, more than a year since President Donald Trump began his second term, the services are needed more than ever.

Among Trump’s first actions upon taking office was to enact a refugee ban. This suspended decisions on applications for refugee status and paused resettlement agency support. Then, at the beginning of the current fiscal year, Trump set a historically low refugee admissions cap. The 125,000 cap in 2025 dropped to 7,500 this year.

“We see a lot of people seeking services. They want to be free to talk to somebody without being punished, or challenged or being threatened of deportation,” Ahmed said. “And we are creating that space for them.”

The growth of El Cajon’s refugee population

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Immigration and Naturalization Service earliest refugee report available online reported in 1997, 69,276 refugees arrived in the U.S. Around 2,600 of those refugees came from Iraq. The U.S. Census estimates El Cajon’s foreign-born population prior to the year 2000 was 9,782.

Ahmed attributes the growth of El Cajon’s refugee and immigrant population to the roots established by the first Chaldeans who came to El Cajon.

“They brought the most beautiful thing: culture,” Ahmed said. “The city was missing that (a) long time ago. I think they brought the spices, the flavor that would make El Cajon something different.”

Dr. Noori Barka came to El Cajon in 1998 and later founded the Chaldean Community Council. He said it took awhile for Chaldeans to feel accepted.

“When more people start coming here from (the) Middle East, mainly Chaldean, we were new to the environment,” Barka said. “And people, they see us, we are different and we speak different language.”

The impact of the Iraq War, which lasted from 2003 until 2011, on the Chaldean community — both in El Cajon and nationwide — can’t be overstated.

From 2007 to 2008, Iraqi refugee admissions nationwide increased over eight-fold, and by 2013, Iraqis accounted for nearly 28% of new arrivals to the U.S.

The influx of new arrivals led to inevitable cultural clashes. Barka remembers when he was planning the first Chaldean community festival in 2010. He put two ads in the penny saver — one in Arabic, the other in English. The ad in Arabic set off alarms.

“After a few days, I received the call from the Chamber of Commerce, and they are telling me … people are receiving it at home, and they are not happy,” Barka said. “That was unacceptable at that time for the community to accept even the language.”

However, he said with more time and opportunities for people to meet at events and collaborate on community boards, El Cajon’s perception of the Chaldean community changed. Plus, along with the growth of the population, came more Chaldean businesses and churches throughout the city.

“We made (a) significant change in the life of El Cajon,” Barka said. ”You see, all this shopping, all these businesses, all these supermarkets, all these restaurants are flourishing.”

Tom Wong, a UC San Diego political science professor and founding director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center, said the establishment of these businesses was part of a social network that laid the groundwork for future waves of immigration.

“The role that social networks play is incredibly important. From the '70s, '80s, '90s onward, when we think about Iraqis in places like El Cajon, there's an initial sort of settlement of groups of people who then bring family members, and others,” Wong said. “The initial settlement builds upon itself … which then creates larger and larger communities.”

Geography matters 

The Iraq War is just one of many conflicts that have roiled the Middle East over the past 50 years. And with each war comes a new group of refugees looking for some semblance of home.

Homayoun Siddiq is a sociologist and translator for Afghan people in San Diego. He said the connections among the immigrant and refugee groups in El Cajon mirror the connections back in the Middle East.

“We are close geographically,” Homayoun said. “We are close by value. We are close by traditions… When I meet a Chaldean or an Arab from El Cajon, we shake hands twice. First we say, ‘Hi, how are you?’ And then he says, ‘Hi, I'm Chaldean. I'm from Iran…’ So, we shake hands again because it's to show how close we are. It's like seeing an old friend you haven't seen for a long time.”

The San Diego County reported that 9,617 refugees came to the county between fiscal years 2020-2023, which made it one of the top refugee resettlement sites in the state. Most refugees during that time came from Afghanistan, Haiti, Syria and Iraq.

But even though the U.S. is a better option than their home countries, the realities of living here are often jarring for refugees.

Faridullah Ibrahimkhil works at Arman Market and Restaurant on West Main Street. He was a journalist in Afghanistan in 2021 when the U.S. withdrew the remainder of its combat troops after 20 years of war. His life there became increasingly perilous as the Taliban retook control of the country.

“The Taliban did not accept journalism work because (the) Taliban said journalism and media is anti-Taliban,” Ibrahimkhil said. “Life in Afghanistan for journalist is (a) very hard life. Every one week, every month some journalist (is) arrested by (the) Taliban. We decide we want to leave Afghanistan to another country.”

After years of working through the asylum system, Ibrahimkhil and his family were reunited in 2025. But they didn’t experience the welcome they had expected.

“He said at first they were hearing lots of great things about America but now they're more scared of if ICE is gonna come and deport them,” Ibrahimkhil said through a translator. “They just want their basic human rights.”

Feeling like home 

License to Freedom’s walls are painted vivid colors: tangerine, lime green, lavender and pomegranate. At their therapy offices, one room is called the kitchen, another the living room.

This is by design, said Qamar Almwali, one of the organization’s marriage and family therapists.

“I actually painted some of the rooms here to make it as colorful, as homey and cozy as possible,” Almwali said. “We work with a lot of families and kids … a lot of people whose homes maybe represent some of what it looks like here. So that's what we are trying to do is replicate the feeling of just being at home and feeling comfortable.”

Their central offices, a block from Main Street, are a hub that plugs folks into support, from therapy to housing navigation to business classes to English as second language (ESL) classes.

In addition to individual and family therapy, License to Freedom also runs several support groups for men, women and children.

On Monday mornings, a small group of around 10 women meet with case manager Nahid Siddiq and therapist Dr. Niyati Kadakia to talk about raising their children and adjusting to life in the U.S. Siddiq came as a refugee with her family in 1989.

“We just tell them to be hopeful and be strong,” Nahid said. “I think the strength we have (is) because we went through so much back home. “

Kadakia leads therapeutic art practices to help them navigate their feelings and discuss their difficult experiences.

“They carry a lot of trauma (and) fear,” Ahmed explained. “They survive war, torture, being disconnected with the family members, they lost family members. So, when they come to this country, they need mental health services.”

Kadakia approaches it with an understanding of their cultural and religious values.

There’s an emphasis on supporting these women because the women before them did not have the same resources. That intentionality comes directly from the experiences Ahmed, the founder, had as a new refugee.

“I just realized something got to be done for my community,” Ahmed said.

One Monday morning in April, Kadakia led the women through a practice where they were encouraged to connect to their younger selves. She also had them write love letters to themselves.

“We always tell them, you guys need to express your feelings,” Nahid said, “We want to provide a safe space in License to Freedom for them.”

Coping with Trump’s funding cuts 

The life of a refugee has never been easy in the U.S., but the Trump era has brought another level of fear.

In July, the federal administration cut support systems for refugees and asylees. Trump then set the lowest refugee admissions cap in the 45-year history of the program.

Sundus Al Mithiab is a case manager from the Majdal Center, an El Cajon organization that does advocacy and outreach with Arab immigrants and refugees. She said the Trump administration’s changes have directly impacted clients they work with.

“We are seeing an increase in fear related to immigration status,” Al Mithiab said. “Individuals with work authorization, pending green card applications, or those planning to apply for citizenship are concerned that using public benefits may negatively affect their future immigration outcomes. This fear often leads them to avoid or delay accessing services, even when they qualify.”

And the challenges aren’t just coming from the federal government. Last February, the city of El Cajon also passed a resolution that declares the city is not a sanctuary city for immigrants.

“(U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement) ICE have a lot of power,” Ahmed said. “And the city of El Cajon gave them more power by removing (the) city of El Cajon from being a sanctuary city. Our job is to tell them to don't walk without your immigration status (papers) ... I'm a U.S. citizen, I've been here for 25 years. I don't walk out of my house or the office without my passport.”

The shifting immigration policy and rhetoric is something that folks at License to Freedom are navigating with their clients.

“I can tell it impacted a lot of work here especially in the city of El Cajon, especially organizations who offer mental health services or focusing on refugees like us,” Ahmed said. “We have not been impacted yet.”

She said it was jarring for her to see the shift in rhetoric against the refugee community.

“I remember I came five days after September 11th,” Ahmed said. “People told me they (are) going to deport you. Let me tell you something, I was treated with respect, and love, and kindness, even during that difficult time. I received fast political asylum. But now, I don't know what happened. I hope things will change. I think things will change.”

Ahmed believes, despite these setbacks, the businesses and community must persist and continue to pursue their dreams in El Cajon.

Wahid Sediqi is part of that story. He moved to the U.S. from Afghanistan 10 years ago and is a U.S. citizen.

“At the beginning, very hard,” he said. “You work like a machine … I work day shift, night shift.”

Sediqi started out driving Uber. Eventually, he and his business partner scraped together enough money to establish Kabul Green Market, which he says is El Cajon’s first Afghan market.

“Eight years ago there was not Afghan bread here,” Sediqi said.

Now, the smell of bread baking on the walls of the oven, wafts through the store in the mornings, giving the new Afghan refugees a slice of home.

“People (are) thinking, we are going shopping in our own country,” Sediqi said. “We have everything in our stores. “

This growth in Afghan business and representation in El Cajon is something Sediqi sees as an important reason why many come here.

“The city look(s) like their countries, that's why the people move here,” Sediqi said.

Agentes arrestaron a 23 miembros de la tripulación de distintos barcos en el Puerto de San Diego como parte de la “Operación Tidal Wave”, dirigida a personas sospechosas de estar involucradas con material de abuso sexual infantil, según un comunicado enviado a KPBS por Sandra Grisolia, vocera del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos (ICE, por sus siglas en inglés).

En un comunicado por separado, la Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza (CBP) informó que 27 personas fueron arrestadas y deportadas, casi todas originarias de Filipinas.

“Los oficiales confirmaron que todos los sujetos estaban involucrados en la recepción, posesión, transporte, distribución o visualización de pornografía infantil”, señaló el comunicado de CBP.

La rapidez de estas deportaciones —menos de dos semanas después de los arrestos iniciales— ha generado dudas entre expertos.

ICE rechazó una solicitud de KPBS para obtener más información sobre las personas detenidas, incluyendo sus nombres, órdenes de arresto o documentos de acusación.

“Por el momento, no tenemos nada más que agregar aparte del comunicado”, escribió Grisolia en respuesta a la solicitud de KPBS.

Mientras tanto, fiscales federales en San Diego y Los Ángeles dijeron no tener registro de cargos relacionados con la “Operación Tidal Wave”.

“No hay cargos penales pendientes en este distrito”, dijo Kelly Thornton, portavoz de la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito Sur de California.

La portavoz de la fiscalía en Los Ángeles dijo a KPBS que su oficina “no tiene conocimiento de que este asunto haya sido presentado ante nosotros”.

La Policía Portuaria de San Diego tampoco participó en el operativo, de acuerdo con un comunicado del Puerto de San Diego.

Además, un portavoz del Consulado de Filipinas en Los Ángeles dijo por correo electrónico a KPBS que la administración Trump no informó al consulado sobre las acusaciones antes de que se hicieran públicas.

Un abogado especializado en derecho marítimo señaló que este tipo de casos normalmente son manejados por el FBI y procesados en cortes federales.

“Creo que aquí hubo algo muy particular: fue CBP e ICE quienes intervinieron y de inmediato enviaron a todos esos tripulantes de regreso a sus países de origen”, dijo Michael Winkleman en una entrevista con ABC 10News, socio informativo de KPBS.

“Pudieron haber sido acusados en tribunales estadounidenses y estar en una prisión federal, esperando cargos o juicio. Pero el hecho de que los enviaran de regreso a sus países tan rápido es bastante inusual”.

Bajo la ley migratoria, las visas pueden ser revocadas si una persona es sospechosa o arrestada por un delito, incluso si nunca se le presentan cargos formales ni es condenada. El año pasado, el secretario de Estado Marco Rubio revocó las visas de varios estudiantes que protestaron por el alto número de víctimas civiles en la guerra de Israel en Gaza.

“Negamos visas todos los días en todo el mundo por distintas razones, y eso significa que también podemos revocarlas”, dijo Rubio en ese momento. “Nadie tiene derecho garantizado a una visa”.

Aun así, expertos en políticas migratorias dicen que la falta de transparencia por parte de ICE y CBP genera preocupación por varias razones.

Primero, impide que alguien pueda verificar de manera independiente las acusaciones. En su comunicado, Grisolia dijo que ICE realizó los arrestos con base en información del Centro Nacional para Niños Desaparecidos y Explotados (NCMEC por sus siglas en inglés), pero no ofreció detalles adicionales.

El centro no respondió de inmediato a una solicitud de comentarios de KPBS.

Durante el último año ha habido varios casos en los que funcionarios del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional hicieron afirmaciones falsas sobre la supuesta criminalidad de personas detenidas.

Por ejemplo, en octubre, agentes de CBP acusaron a una mujer en Chicago —a quien dispararon cinco veces— de intentar embestirlos con su camioneta Chevy Tahoe. Más tarde, fiscales federales retiraron los cargos.

La primavera pasada, autoridades migratorias federales describieron a los 252 hombres enviados a la prisión CECOT en El Salvador como “lo peor de lo peor” y supuestos “terroristas”. Sin embargo, una investigación independiente posterior encontró que solo ocho de ellos tenían condenas por delitos violentos.

Otra preocupación es que, cuando una persona acusada de un delito grave es deportada antes de enfrentar consecuencias penales, las víctimas quedan sin acceso a la justicia.

“Si la agencia está diciendo la verdad, el hecho de que las personas sean deportadas antes de ser procesadas, antes de entender qué ocurrió realmente en estos casos y asegurarnos de que enfrenten consecuencias reales, sí es preocupante”, dijo Austin Kocher, investigador de la Universidad de Syracuse especializado en temas de aplicación de leyes migratorias.

Kocher añadió que deportar a alguien antes de completar una investigación exhaustiva también podría impedir que los investigadores obtengan más información sobre una posible red de distribución de material de abuso sexual infantil.

Agents arrested 23 crew members from multiple ships at the Port of San Diego as part of “Operation Tidal Wave,” which targeted people suspected of involvement with child sexual abuse materials, according to a statement to KPBS from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson Sandra Grisolia.

In a separate statement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said 27 people were arrested and deported, almost all of them from the Philippines.

“Officers confirmed all subjects were involved in either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of child pornography,” the CBP statement said.

The quick nature of these deportations — less than two weeks after the initial arrest — raised questions among experts.

ICE declined a KPBS request for more information about the individuals arrested, including their names, warrants or any of the charging documents.

“At this time, we have nothing to add beyond the statement,” Grisolia wrote in response to the KPBS request

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors in San Diego and Los Angeles said they have no record of any charges stemming from “Operation Tidal Wave.”

“There are no pending criminal charges in this district,” said Kelly Thornton, spokesperson for the Office of the U.S. Attorney, Southern District of California.

Thornton’s counterpart in Los Angeles told KPBS their office is “not aware of this matter being brought to our attention.”

The San Diego Harbor Police also did not have any involvement in the operation, according to a statement from the Port of San Diego.

Additionally, a spokesperson for the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles told KPBS in an email that the Trump administration did not inform the consulate of the allegations before they were made public.

A maritime attorney said these types of cases are usually handled by the FBI and tried in federal court.

"I think there was something very unique here that it was CBP and ICE, and they immediately sent all those crew members back to their home countries," Michael Winkleman said in an interview with KPBS news partner ABC 10News.

"They could have been charged in U.S. courts and be in federal prison. Now awaiting charges, awaiting trial, etc. but the fact that they were sent home to their home countries, that's actually quite unique."

Under immigration law, visas can be revoked if someone is suspected or arrested of a crime — even if they are never formally charged or convicted. Last year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked the visas of several students who protested the high civilian casualty count in Israel’s war in Gaza.

“We deny visas all over the world every day for a variety of reasons, and that means we can also revoke those visas,” Rubio said at the time. “No one is entitled to a visa.”

Still, immigration policy experts say there are a couple reasons why the lack of transparency from ICE and CBP is concerning.

First, it prevents anyone from independently verifying the accusations. In her statement, Grisolia said ICE made the arrests based on information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, but didn’t provide any details.

The center did not immediately respond to an inquiry from KPBS.

Over the past year, there have been a number of cases in which Department of Homeland Security Officials made false claims about people’s criminality.

For example, in October, CBP agents accused a woman in Chicago who they shot five times of trying to ram them with her Chevy Tahoe. Federal prosecutors later dropped those charges. 

Last spring, federal immigration officials described the 252 men sent to El Salvador’s CECOT prison as “worst of the worst” and alleged “terrorists.” But a later independent investigation found only eight of those men had convictions for violent offenses.

Another concern is when someone accused of a serious crime is deported before facing criminal consequences, victims are prevented from getting justice.

“If the agency is being truthful, the fact that people are deported before they are prosecuted, before we know what is going on with these cases and make sure people face real consequences is a concern,” said Austin Kocher, a researcher at Syracuse University who focuses on immigration enforcement.

Kocher added that deporting someone before completing a thorough investigation may also prevent investigators from learning more information about an alleged child sexual abuse materials operation.

The data came in a letter response to Rep. Mike Levin, D-Oceanside, who expressed concerns about ICE's tactics during operations in Oceanside and requested information about the warrants involved and the detainees' criminal records. The latter was not provided.

"ICE possesses the unambiguous statutory authority to arrest and remove aliens unlawfully present in the United States, no matter the extent of their criminal histories," the letter from the agency read. "Such authority derives from the laws passed by Congress. These laws have stood for decades and been amended and strengthened over the years by bipartisan majorities. ICE enforces immigration law against all removable aliens, and the commission of violent crimes is not a prerequisite for enforcement. Being unlawfully present in the United States is itself a violation of federal law."

President Donald Trump had previously pledged to go after the "worst of the worst" immigrants in the country illegally, but many of those being arrested, put in ICE camps and deported have committed a civil misdemeanor and no other offenses, The Guardian reported in February.

"I suspect these high numbers are part of (White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy) Stephen Miller's demands to meet high detention quotas. What this letter does not answer is how many detainees and removals had a criminal record. That is a question that deserves an answer," Levin said. "I expect ICE to keep even more data than this, and they need to be able to provide information on where they are detaining individuals and why. This type of oversight — requiring ICE to do public reporting — is something I will continue to advocate for. This letter paints only half the picture, not a full one."

Of the more than 16,000 removals by ICE since January 2025, 10,847 were Mexican nationals, 996 from Guatemala and 544 from Venezuela with smaller figures from 116 other countries.

"I appreciate ICE's response, and it is largely consistent with what we believed to be occurring in San Diego. However, the numbers in this letter are quite troubling," said Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego. "When President Donald Trump took office, he promised the American people that his immigration agenda would target the `worst of the worst,' yet this letter raises serious questions: Are the 16,000 individuals who were removed from San Diego the `worst of the worst?' Do they have criminal records, or are these removals simply part of a broader effort to hit an arbitrary quota by this administration? Our constituents deserve to know who is being removed from their communities and why."

The American Immigration Council reported in April that two out of every three "at-large" arrests during the winter were of "people with no criminal record and just 17% had any prior criminal conviction. And out of that group, just one-third were classified as the most serious offenders by ICE."

In March, San Diego County filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration after federal officials blocked a public health inspection of the Otay Mesa Immigrant Detention Center.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was named in preliminary documents but she has since been replaced in the role by former Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin.

County officials say detainees have reported freezing temperatures, untreated medical conditions and food unfit for human consumption at the facility, prompting requests for elected officials and public health personnel to inspect the prison.

However, the county's public health officer was only given limited approval to view the facility last month, while a group of elected officials that included Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and County Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Paloma Aguirre were denied entry.

San Diego County Public Health Officer Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan's inspection did not include access to medical records, confidential interviews with detainees and facility health policies, officials said.

"It's disappointing but not surprising that ICE won't admit the truth — that they're not targeting `the worst of the worst,' and are instead attempting to eliminate all forms of legal immigration," said Rep. Sara Jacobs in response to Wednesday's letter from ICE. "ICE removed over 16,000 people from San Diego — our friends, neighbors, and hardworking people — who deserve due process, and not to be disappeared without a trace. San Diegans need real answers about what's happening to people in our community, and this letter response from ICE is a joke. We will keep pressing for actual answers."

Todd Lyons, acting director of ICE, said the agency was acting inside its legal purview and had a duty to act — even if a person has not yet committed a crime other than illegal entry into the United States.

"Additionally, some aliens have committed crimes in their countries of origin or last country of known residence, but those criminal histories are unknown to U.S. law enforcement," he wrote in the letter. "An untold number of other crimes have been committed by illegal aliens in the United States for which they have never been caught or charged. Finally, any crime committed by an illegal alien in the interior was a preventable one — waiting to remove an illegal alien until after the commission of a crime against an American citizen defies common sense and represents an abdication of government's responsibility to protect its citizens."

Rep. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, said the answers in the letter were not good enough.

"Donald Trump and Stephen Miller's mass deportation agenda has ripped families apart and created fear and chaos in our communities. These numbers are evidence of that," he said. "But ICE is still withholding information. This lack of accountability and clarity from ICE is unacceptable. We need answers, and we will continue to demand them."

A federal judge indicated Wednesday that he will grant a request from San Diego County to conduct a public health inspection of the Otay Mesa Detention Center, though he said some of the county's requests — such as having local lawmakers be part of the inspection team — will require additional arguments from the county.

San Diego County sued the federal government and private prison company CoreCivic earlier this year after a coalition of lawmakers — including County Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Paloma Aguirre — were blocked from inspecting the facility. The county's public health officer was provided access, but county officials say that inspection did not include access to medical records, confidential interviews with detainees, and a review of facility health policies.

U.S. District Judge James Simmons agreed with the county that it has authority to evaluate the conditions of the facility, but said some other requests from the county regarding the scope of what that inspection would look like were "broad and vague."

Those requests include permitting "non-subject matter experts" to inspect the facility.

Attorneys representing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security argued in court filings that ICE determined the lawmakers who previously sought to enter the facility "were not public health professionals with the appropriate subject matter expertise to conduct health and safety inspections."

County attorneys argue in their filings that the county's health officer has the discretion to select the members of the inspection team.

Simmons, who gave both sides three weeks to file supplemental briefs on their respective positions before he would render a final decision, also said he wanted more information regarding what facility policies and procedures county officials would seek to review and how they would go about examining detainees.

Government attorneys said the county's requests to interview detainees and review their medical records raised privacy concerns. They argued detainees were provided privacy waivers during previous Department of Justice inspections at the facility, an issue county officials didn't address in their inspection requests.

The county denied that furnishing privacy waivers was the standard practice for such inspections. They argued in their filings that prior to other inspections, a notice was posted in detainee housing areas notifying any detainees who wish to speak to inspectors that they can. The county argued their team was not provided with this option during previous inspection attempts.

Durante casi un año, la ciudad de San Diego se ha estado preparando para saber cómo respondería a una operación federal de control de la inmigración a gran escala en la región.

Esos esfuerzos, presentados por primera vez en una orden ejecutiva firmada por el alcalde Todd Gloria el pasado mes de julio, incluyen la convocatoria de una mesa redonda con ejecutivos y jefes de policía de ciudades vecinas para coordinar una respuesta regional y la creación de un "equipo de respuesta integral" encargado de desarrollar un plan de seguridad conjunto.

La orden ejecutiva también establece que los funcionarios de la ciudad organizarán reuniones "con líderes comunitarios, organizaciones de derechos civiles y departamentos municipales pertinentes para evaluar los protocolos de la ciudad, monitorear el impacto en la comunidad y recomendar acciones futuras".

Casi un año después de que Gloria firmara la orden ejecutiva, los defensores de los derechos de los inmigrantes se sienten frustrados por la falta de transparencia y colaboración por parte de la alcaldía. Esta tensión surge a medida que los defensores buscan cada vez más en los gobiernos estatales y locales protección frente a las crecientes tácticas de represión migratoria de la administración Trump.

“Hemos estado esperando planes concretos de nuestro gobierno local, específicamente de la ciudad, a raíz de esa orden ejecutiva”, dijo Ian Seruelo, presidente del Consorcio de Derechos de los Inmigrantes de San Diego. “Nos preocupa mucho que no se estén discutiendo planes abiertamente ni en público, o al menos que no se compartan con diferentes grupos para que podamos aportar nuestra opinión”.

El consorcio está integrado por aproximadamente 50 organizaciones. Entre sus miembros se incluyen grupos que brindan asistencia legal gratuita, recaudan fondos para fianzas de inmigración, acompañan a personas a las audiencias judiciales de inmigración y visitan a los detenidos en el Centro de Detención de Otay Mesa.

Seruelo afirmó que su experiencia podría ayudar a los funcionarios municipales a planificar la posibilidad de una operación a gran escala del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos (ICE) en San Diego. Sin embargo, ninguno de ellos se ha reunido con la alcaldía.

KPBS dedicó tres meses a solicitar información a los funcionarios municipales sobre sus planes y presentó múltiples solicitudes de acceso a registros públicos para obtener agendas, actas, memorandos y otros documentos relacionados con la orden ejecutiva.

KPBS también le pidió a la oficina de Gloria una lista de con quién se ha reunido su equipo para “evaluar los protocolos de la ciudad, monitorear el impacto en la comunidad y recomendar acciones a futuro”. Su vocero se negó a compartir la lista y solo mencionó a una organización: Jewish Family Service de San Diego. La organización rechazó una solicitud de entrevista, pero compartió un comunicado preparado atribuido a su directora ejecutiva, Dana Toppel.

“JFS ha servido como socio comunitario y recurso experto para la oficina del alcalde de San Diego, así como para otras entidades gubernamentales y no gubernamentales, brindando orientación y recomendaciones sobre la actividad actual y potencial futura del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos en el interior del país”, dijo Toppel.

El vocero del alcalde también se negó a poner a Gloria a disposición para una entrevista. Los registros públicos difundidos por la ciudad no incluyen minutas, memorandos ni copias de un plan de respuesta. Entre los documentos sí se encontró una invitación a la mesa redonda regional que el alcalde organizó el año pasado.

Cuando se le preguntó directamente si la ciudad tenía un plan de respuesta para una operación de ICE al estilo de Minneapolis en San Diego, un portavoz dijo que su plan es "intencionalmente operativo y adaptable. No es un documento estático único, sino un conjunto de protocolos coordinados, funciones y acciones de respuesta que utilizan los departamentos para gestionar situaciones en tiempo real".

El portavoz no respondió a las preguntas posteriores en las que se le pedía que compartiera detalles específicos sobre los protocolos, las funciones o las medidas de respuesta.

Pedro Ríos, director del American Friends Service Committee, elogió la decisión de la ciudad de contar con un plan adaptativo, afirmando que le brinda a la ciudad la flexibilidad necesaria para responder a las cambiantes tácticas de aplicación de la ley del ICE.

Sin embargo, Ríos afirmó que la falta de transparencia sobre los detalles de dicho plan imposibilita que las organizaciones que trabajan con la población inmigrante de San Diego puedan evaluarlo.

“Existe la percepción de que la Alcaldía no ha hecho lo suficiente y no está tan interesada en estos temas, aunque afirme que está trabajando en ello”, declaró. “No se ha comunicado claramente al público en general”.

Esta tensión pone de manifiesto un cambio importante entre el primer y el segundo mandato de Trump.

Durante el primer mandato, los proveedores de servicios de inmigración se centraron principalmente en brindar asistencia legal y social a los inmigrantes que se encontraban en trámites migratorios, sin necesariamente protegerlos de las medidas de control migratorio.

Pero ahora, consideran que la mano dura de la administración ha obligado a la gente a adoptar una postura defensiva, y los proveedores de servicios temen que los funcionarios electos locales no estén haciendo lo suficiente para brindarles apoyo.

Múltiples capas de protección

Tras la elección de Trump en 2016, los legisladores estatales aprobaron la Acta de Valores de California, una de las tres llamadas leyes santuario que buscaban limitar la cooperación entre la policía local y los agentes federales de inmigración.

Erin Tsurumoto-Grassi, subdirectora de Alliance San Diego, calificó la Ley de Valores de California como "pionera" y señaló que varios estados están intentando aprobar legislación similar en la actualidad.

Sin embargo, señaló que la ley de 2017 tiene algunas limitaciones. Partes de ella han quedado obsoletas debido a que el ICE ha modificado sus tácticas de aplicación de la ley.

Ahora, Tsurumoto-Grassi considera la ley estatal como un punto de partida sobre el cual los condados y ciudades locales pueden desarrollarla.

“Establece un mínimo, no un máximo”, afirmó. “Y luego las jurisdicciones locales pueden ir más allá, como hemos visto suceder en varios condados del estado”.

Por ejemplo, la ley estatal de 2017 no contemplaba que los agentes del ICE usaran mascarillas y realizaran operativos en lugares sensibles como escuelas, hospitales e iglesias.

La ley no proporciona a los departamentos de policía locales directrices sobre cómo responder a las llamadas al 911 relacionadas con el ICE, ya sean de agentes que solicitan refuerzos o de miembros de la comunidad que piden ayuda.

La orden ejecutiva de Gloria estableció algunas directrices al exigir que el departamento de policía informara sobre cualquier incidente en el que agentes del Departamento de Policía de San Diego respondieran a una situación relacionada con la aplicación de las leyes federales de inmigración.

Si bien este es un paso importante, algunos defensores criticaron la orden ejecutiva por no facilitar el acceso público a dichos informes.

“Entendía que después de cada incidente se elaboraría un informe y, si existe un informe, se espera que esté disponible para el público”, dijo. “Y aún no he visto ninguno”.

El portavoz del alcalde se negó a compartir esos informes con KPBS. KPBS tardó tres meses en obtener copias mediante una solicitud de acceso a registros públicos.

Los registros no son informes estandarizados, sino una mezcla de mensajes de texto y correos electrónicos que el Departamento de Policía de San Diego (SDPD por sus siglas en inglés) envía al personal del alcalde.

Una ordenanza municipal, presentada inicialmente por el concejal Sean Elo Rivera, amplía lo establecido por la orden ejecutiva del alcalde. Dicha ordenanza formaliza el proceso de presentación de informes y exige que el departamento de policía los presente al Consejo de la Ciudad en un plazo de tres días tras cualquier interacción relacionada con el ICE.

“Esto proporciona un nivel de transparencia que antes no existía”, afirmó Tsurumoto-Grassi.

Otro ejemplo de cómo las políticas locales pueden suplir las deficiencias de la ley de santuario se observa en la aplicación de la ley por parte del ICE en lugares sensibles como escuelas, hospitales o iglesias.

Durante el primer mandato de Trump, el gobierno federal siguió en gran medida la política vigente para evitar la aplicación de la ley en esos lugares. Pero ahora, esos lugares son blanco fácil para la aplicación de la ley de inmigración.

La ordenanza municipal, que entra en vigor este mes, exige que los agentes federales muestren una orden judicial cada vez que ingresen a espacios no públicos de edificios municipales o a propiedades privadas de empresas con contratos con la ciudad.

“Esto es importante porque, si pensamos en las personas o los contratistas con los que trabaja la ciudad, se trata de sus refugios, su centro de convenciones, su estadio”, dijo Tsurumoto-Grassi.

For nearly a year, the city of San Diego has been preparing for how it would respond to a large-scale federal immigration enforcement operation in the region.

Those efforts — first introduced in an executive order Mayor Todd Gloria signed last July — include convening a roundtable with executives and police chiefs of neighboring cities to coordinate a regional response and creating a “comprehensive response team” tasked with developing a joint safety plan.

The executive order also states city officials will host meetings, “with community leaders, civil rights organizations and relevant city departments to evaluate city protocols, monitor community impact, and recommend future action.”

But nearly a year since Gloria signed the executive order, immigration rights advocates are frustrated by the lack of transparency and collaboration coming from the mayor’s office. The tension comes as advocates look more to state and local governments to offer protection from the escalating immigration crackdown tactics of the Trump administration.

“We’ve been waiting for some concrete plans from our local government, specifically from the city in light of that executive order,” said Ian Seruelo, chair of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium. “We are very concerned that there’s no plans that are being discussed in the open or in the public, or at least shared with different groups so that we can provide some input.”

The consortium is made up of approximately 50 organizations. Members include groups that provide free legal aid, raise money for immigration bail bonds, accompany people to immigration court hearings and visit detainees at the Otay Mesa Detention Center.

Seruelo said their experience could help city officials plan for the possibility of a large-scale U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in San Diego. But none of them have met with the mayor’s office.

KPBS spent three months asking city officials for information about its plans and filed multiple public records requests for agendas, minutes, memos and other documents related to the executive order.

KPBS also asked Gloria’s office for a list of who his staff has met with to “evaluate city protocols, monitor community impact, and recommend future action.” His spokesperson declined to share a list, naming only one organization — Jewish Family Service of San Diego. The organization declined an interview request but shared a prepared statement attributable to CEO Dana Toppel.

“JFS has served as a community partner and expert resource for the San Diego Mayor’s Office along with other government and nongovernment entities to provide guidance and recommendations regarding current and potential future federal interior U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity,” Toppel said.

The mayor’s spokesperson declined to make Gloria available for an interview. Public records released by the city did not include any minutes, memos, or copies of a response plan. Records included an invitation to the regional roundtable the mayor hosted last year.

When asked directly whether the city had a response plan for a Minneapolis-style ICE operation in San Diego, a spokesperson said their plan is, “intentionally operational and adaptive. It is not a single static document, but a set of coordinated protocols, roles and response actions used by departments to manage real-time situations.”

The spokesperson did not answer follow up questions asking them to share any specific details about the protocols, roles or response actions.

Pedro Rios, a director at the American Friends Service Committee, praised the city’s decision to have an adaptive plan — saying it gives the city flexibility to respond to shifting ICE enforcement tactics.

However, Rios said the lack of transparency about specifics regarding that plan, makes it impossible for organizations currently working with San Diego’s immigrant population to evaluate it.

“There’s a perception that the Mayor’s Office hasn’t done enough and isn’t as interested in these issues, even though his office might say that they are working on it,” he said. “It hasn’t been clearly communicated to the wider public.”

This tension highlights an important shift between the first and second Trump administration.

During the first term, immigration service providers mainly focused on providing legal and social services for immigrants going through immigration proceedings, not necessarily shielding them from enforcement.

But now, they see the administration’s heavy-handed approach as having forced people into a defensive posture and service providers worry local elected officials are not doing enough to support.

Multiple layers of protection

Following Trump’s 2016 election, state lawmakers passed the California Values Act — one of three so-called sanctuary laws that aimed to limit cooperation between local police and federal immigration agents.

Erin Tsurumoto-Grassi, the associate director of Alliance San Diego, called the California Values Act, “groundbreaking” noting that several states are attempting to pass similar legislation now.

But she noted that the law from 2017 has some limits. Parts of it have become outdated because ICE has changed its enforcement tactics.

Now, Tsurumoto-Grassi views the state law as a starting point that local counties and cities can build on.

“It sets a floor, not a ceiling,” she said. “And then local jurisdictions can go farther, which is what we’ve seen happen with a number of counties across the state.”

For example, the 2017 state law did not account for ICE agents wearing face masks and conducting enforcement operations in sensitive locations like schools, hospitals and churches.

The law doesn’t provide local police departments with guidance on how to respond to ICE-related 911 calls — whether they come from ICE agents asking for backup or members of the community asking for help.

Gloria’s executive order created some guidelines by requiring the police department to report any instances where San Diego Police Department officers respond to an incident involving federal immigration enforcement.

While that’s a significant new step, advocates criticized the executive order for not making those reports easily accessible to the public.

“My understanding was that after each incident there would be a report and if there’s a report, then the expectation is that report should be available to the public,” he said. “And I have not seen one yet.”

The mayor’s spokesperson declined to share those reports with KPBS. It took three months for KPBS to obtain copies through a public records request.

The records are not standardized reports, but a mix of text messages and emails SDPD sends to the mayor’s staff.

A city ordinance first introduced by Councilmember Sean Elo Rivera expands on what the mayor’s executive order created. The ordinance formalizes the reporting process and requires the police department to submit reports to the City Council within three days of an ICE-related interaction.

“So that provides a level of transparency that didn’t exist before,” Tsurumoto-Grassi said.

Another example of how local policies can fill gaps in the sanctuary law is with ICE enforcement in sensitive locations like schools, hospitals or churches.

During the first Trump term, the federal government largely followed existing policy to avoid enforcement in those locations. But now, those places are fair game for immigration enforcement.

The city ordinance, which goes into effect this month, requires federal agents to show a warrant whenever they enter nonpublic spaces of municipal buildings — or private property of businesses with city contracts.

“That’s important because, if you think about the people or the contractors the city is working with, that’s your shelters, that’s your convention center, that’s your ballpark,” Tsurumoto-Grassi said.

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Up against a massive court backlog that can drag their cases for years, asylum seekers face steep costs when pursuing their dreams of college in California.

Asylum-seeking students in California often face a double blow: they are charged higher tuition for nonresidents and excluded from most financial aid. For students and their families, this can mean thousands of dollars paid out of pocket and years of financial stress as their immigration cases remain unresolved.

Before establishing residency, asylum-seeking students are charged non-resident rates, which are about three times what state residents pay for public universities and roughly eight to 13 times more for community colleges, depending on the district.

All asylum seekers are disqualified from federal financial aid. The few who qualify for California’s state aid may never know their options, or face hurdles in obtaining it due to a patchwork of financial aid processes.

The state’s higher education systems are not mandated to track asylum seekers, making state budget impacts nearly unquantifiable during legislative attempts to expand financial aid eligibility.

“I only see them struggling,” said Eric Cline, social services program director at OASIS Legal Services, which supports LGBTQ+ asylum seekers across the Bay Area and Central Valley. “I’m always surprised (when) a few clients tell me 'I just graduated from college.’ I think, ‘Wow, how did that happen?’”

Policy changes stoke uncertainty for asylum seekers

Asylum seeking is one of the least-protected immigration statuses in the U.S. Asylum seekers, who’ve fled their home countries fearing persecution and are asking the U.S. for protection, differ from refugees, whose status is granted before they enter the country. Asylum seekers apply upon arriving in the U.S.

Applicants can stay as their cases remain pending for years, though experts say the Trump administration is expediting deportations for numerous asylum seekers and ending cases before they can receive a full hearing.

As of February 2026, a little over 2.3 million immigrants are awaiting asylum hearings nationwide, according to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which tracks federal activity. The most recent data shows California alone had about 169,000 pending asylum cases in its immigration courts by the end of 2023 — the second-largest backlog of any state. The average wait for an asylum hearing in California was 1,412 days at that time.

The Trump administration paused asylum cases in November, creating even further delays. The administration has now allowed cases to resume for applicants from all but 40 countries. In the San Francisco immigration court system, which is popular among asylum seekers due to higher acceptance rates, a combination of firings by the Trump administration, retirements and relocations whittled the 21 immigration judges to two, according to reporting in Mission Local. Left behind is a caseload of nearly 119,000 immigration cases, the highest of any immigration court in California.

President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” also established new fees for asylum seekers, placing additional pressure on an already low-income population. Applicants must now pay an initial $100 application fee plus $100 per year while their case is pending, $550 for a work permit, and $745 each year to renew the permit. In addition, a new rule proposed by the Department of Homeland Security would effectively end the ability of asylum seekers to obtain work permits at all.

As they await a decision, asylum seekers are excluded from federal aid and some state financial aid programs, including Cal Grants under California law.

For one asylum seeker, Carol, being ineligible for financial aid meant she had to take time off from school to work to make ends meet. CalMatters is not using her full name because she fears speaking publicly may jeopardize her asylum case.

Carol did speak before the Assembly Higher Education Committee in 2023 urging lawmakers to pass AB 888, which would have expanded Cal Grant eligibility to certain asylum seekers. The bill ultimately did not pass.

She said she arrived in the United States at 17 and had spent more than six years waiting for her case to move through immigration courts, a period during which she said she was ineligible for financial aid.

“I’ve had to delay my educational journey several times, including going part-time and even taking a semester off from school to work,” Carol told lawmakers.

Without access to aid, she said she experienced homelessness, couch surfing and at one point slept on a mattress topper on a hardwood floor because she could not afford a bed. She worked multiple jobs at a time, skipped meals and attended class without the required course materials.

Her story, she said, was not new. Carol told the committee that four years earlier her brother had testified with a nearly identical experience on behalf of a previous bill that was ultimately vetoed, a cycle she argued could have been prevented.

“Had California taken action then, I wouldn’t have had to face the harrowing experiences that I shared with you today,” she said.

Despite the barriers, Carol graduated from Cal State Long Beach and worked as a caseworker with the International Rescue Committee, helping resettle refugees and asylum seekers. She told lawmakers she hopes to pursue a law degree and become an international human rights attorney.

The narrow path to college aid for asylum-seeking students

Many asylum seekers arrive eager to continue studies they began abroad, but quickly run into what Cline calls “a brick wall."

“All of our clients are low-income … they’re almost never eligible for generalized financial aid,” he said. “When you take away the financial aid aspect, it makes (college) pretty inaccessible.”

For California residents, annual undergraduate tuition is $15,588 at the University of California, $6,838 at the California State University and about $1,380 for 30 units at a community college. Students classified as non-residents — including some asylum seekers before establishing residency — can pay $54,858 at a University of California, about $20,968 at a Cal State before campus-based fees, and roughly $10,140 to $13,560 for 30 units at a community college, depending on the district. These figures do not include campus-based fees, housing or living expenses.

Even when students do manage to establish residency, the cost is still steep. For the many asylum seekers who arrive in the United States as adults, they may not have attended a California school previously, barring them from qualifying for state financial aid.

AB 540, the 2001 law that exempts undocumented students from paying non-resident tuition, only applies if the student attended a California high school or community college for three years.

Those who qualify through AB 540 can fill out the California Dream Act Application for state financial aid, such as Cal Grants, university system-specific grants, state loans, and the state’s middle class scholarship.

The application process can still be confusing for asylum seekers whose status is not fully accounted for in the design of the application. For example, asylum seekers often have Social Security numbers for work authorization, but affirming so while answering the financial aid pre-screening questions leads to undetermined eligibility because the questions don’t take into account the nuances of applying as an asylum seeker.

Asylum seekers often require extra help from financial aid counselors, but even counselors may not know how to help navigate eligibility rules. Students often wind up seeking help from undocumented student resource centers on public campuses, which are designed to help students who lack legal residency and those from mixed-status families find aid and academic support.

Kaveena Singh, the director of immigration legal services at the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, which provides legal services to low-income immigrants, noted that she herself has written letters to financial aid offices to help explain the in-between nature of the few asylum-seeking students she has served.

As an asylum-seeking student in his mid-20s, L. ended up qualifying for state financial aid through AB 540. However, he misunderstood for six years exactly what aid he qualified for. L. wished to withhold his name and the names of the institutions he’s attended for fear of negative impacts on his pending asylum case.

Initially, community college didn’t cost him anything — but when he transferred to a large four-year university, the cost of college soared. He went to his university's financial aid office for help so often that all the staff there knew his name. It was a "big relief” when he was finally able to successfully fill out the California Dream Act Application, and obtain financial aid for his summer and fall quarters.

L.'s asylum case has been pending for nine years. He, his dad, mom and younger brother arrived in the United States in the winter of 2016, claiming asylum under fear of political retribution. His father organized political assemblies in China, and his mother was forced to have an abortion under the one-child policy.

“I just wish I could go home and visit family and friends and catch up for a good few weeks in the summer here and there to reconnect with my past,” L. said. “It's like there's two separate lives, like two entities being artificially cut.”

L. worked throughout high school and college, and worried about affording school.

Most days, the combination of family trauma and the limbo of waiting for his case means L. survives through “constant compartmentalization.”

In the meantime, he tries to carry on — he studies politics, and is interested in international relations and human rights.

"As rough as all that's happened, the silver lining is that one day hopefully I get a passport and a green card," L. said. "To help other people avoid such a hassle will be just as fulfilling for me."

Previous legislative efforts have failed

Legislative bills to extend state financial aid eligibility to asylum-seeking students have been introduced at least twice in recent years but have failed.

One attempt came in 2019, when Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat from El Segundo, introduced SB 296, a bill that would have extended Cal Grant eligibility to students with pending asylum applications. The measure passed the Legislature with some bipartisan support, but was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said that it would "impose costs on the General Fund that must be weighed in the annual budget process."

“That was frustrating, but I understood it,” Allen told CalMatters. “The real issue is that we don’t have good data. Our schools don’t track asylum seekers, so we can’t easily calculate the cost.”

UC data on asylum-seeking students is protected due to privacy policies, according to Stett Holbrook, a UC spokesperson. The Cal State system reports it has less than 500 students with "asylum status," which includes both those who have an asylum granted and asylum seekers, according to Cal State spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith. The numbers are self-reported during the admissions process.

In spring 2025, 13,507 students self-identified as “refugee/asylee” across the California Community Colleges — up from 11,537 the prior semester — per the CCC DataMart. The data does not include a category for just asylum seekers. Students can self-identify their immigration status while applying, but asylum seekers are not specifically tracked, according to the college system’s spokesperson Melissa Villarin.

Four years after SB 296 failed, Democrat Sabrina Cervantes — then representing Riverside in the Assembly and now as a state senator — revived the proposal through AB 888, introduced in 2023. Like Allen’s earlier bill, AB 888 sought to make Cal Grants accessible to students with pending asylum applications by creating a direct eligibility pathway outside the AB 540 residency requirements. The bill passed the Assembly unanimously but was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee last September, effectively ending its chances for the year.

Cervantes declined an interview with CalMatters. “My Assembly Bill 888 would have created a new pathway for pending asylum seekers in California to apply for Cal Grant financial aid in pursuit of their higher education,” Cervantes wrote in a statement.

Newsom’s office declined to say whether he would support a future version of the proposal, pointing instead to his brief 2019 veto message.

“There’s nervousness around anything that involves new expenses," Allen said. “... We’re going to have to spend some time seeing what information we can get with regards to better data to get better estimated costs. I think that will help to better inform the conversation."

Andrea Baltodano and Chrissa Olson are contributors with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

But due to the Trump administration's crackdown on asylum-seekers at the border, the man had landed in the Otay Mesa Detention Center.

He needed help. And he got it — from a group of law school students at the University of San Diego (USD).

“The fact that I was able to help get him out and get him released on bond is just really, really wonderful,” said Amber Rahim, a third-year law student at USD School of Law and an intern at the school’s Immigration Clinic.

During her two years interning at the clinic, Rahim has, in addition to this case, helped clients become U.S. citizens, apply for a green cards, secure visas and even fight deportations.

She’s part of a growing number of students who view immigration law as a way to fight back against the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. And the clinic helps them get hands-on experience before passing the bar exam.

For Rahim, the work is personal. Her parents are immigrants.

“Growing up, I just watched their journey of coming here,” she said. “I went to my dad’s citizenship ceremony.”

The clinic is run by Tammy Lin, a San Diego-based immigration lawyer with decades of experience.

“I was brought in specifically because students wanted to do asylum cases. They wanted to be in court. They wanted to go to detention,” Lin said.

When Lin was in law school in the early 2000s, immigration law wasn’t a popular specialty. The stereotype was that immigration lawyers were more administrators than litigators, spending most of their time filling out paperwork.

But that’s changed during the second Trump term. Law school students are seeing viral videos of federal immigration agents arresting people based on their appearance or forcing their way into homes without a warrant.

Records from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) show approximately 70% of the people detained at the detention center in Otay Mesa do not have a criminal record.

As a result, more law school students now view immigration law as a way to make a difference in their communities.

“They’re looking at immigration practitioners as really much the front line of protection of constitutional rights,” she said.

And the Trump administration’s enforcement surge over the past year has further exacerbated an ongoing shortage of immigration lawyers.

The number of people held in immigration custody across the country has nearly doubled since Trump took — from about 40,000 people detained during the Biden administration to about 70,000 today.

Federal data also show more than half of people with pending cases in immigration court do not have legal representation. 

“I think the market for them right now is very bright in that there’s just so much need and there’s just not enough attorneys,” Lin said.

Last year, the clinic opened 60 new cases. And interns dedicated thousands of hours to help San Diego’s immigrant families, according to USD.

Difficult work

Lin acknowledges that practicing immigration law can be emotionally draining and heavy caseloads lead to burnout. The USD clinic offers students a chance to find out if immigration law is really for them.

Lin also cites examples of students who decide against full-time immigration work but still plan on to taking pro bono immigration cases on the side.

Logan Quessenberry went into law school thinking he’d be a public defense attorney, but now sees immigration law as his calling.

“I felt this semester, more so than ever, the resolve to continue helping people in the community,” he said. “That’s what we’re here to do. We help people.”

Quessenberry, who grew up in San Diego, says he sees the impact of Trump’s campaign every time he visits the Otay Mesa Detention Center.

“We have such a vibrant community from all over the world that I just had no clue about until I went to the clinic,” he said.

Francesca Nevil, who graduated from USD last year, now works at the clinic as a staff attorney.

It primarily serves low-income San Diegans. But anyone is welcome to call in for a screening. Nevil has worked with a lot of different people who have one thing in common — fear.

“I think our community is really afraid right now,” she said.

Nevil said one of the central challenges to practicing immigration law right now is how quickly it changes. The administration, for example, has threatened to terminate legal humanitarian parole programs like “temporary protected status.”

Then there are court rulings, like the one from a federal judge in Minnesota, who ruled that ICE agents likely engaged in unconstitutional practices, including racial profiling.

Immigration laws rarely offer undocumented immigrants a simple solution to adjusting their status and sometimes, there are no options. Still, Nevil said, it helps to arm people with knowledge.

“I do think that the power of education and sharing resources is really impactful and that gives folk the opportunity to make the decisions that are right for their families,” she said.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has approved an agreement with the Mexican Consulate to increase legal defense services for Mexican nationals and improve access to "Know Your Rights" information.

According to the motion's sponsors, board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer and Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, the measure comes "as federal immigration enforcement intensifies, drawing more San Diego families into detention and removal proceedings without legal representation."

Lawson-Remer, Aguirre and Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe voted yes at Tuesday's meeting, while Supervisors Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond were opposed.

The board authorized county officials to negotiate with the Mexican Consulate on legal services for those who face removal from the United States for being here illegally.

"This includes critical post-detention interventions such as bond assistance, habeas corpus petitions and (legal orders) — tools that can prevent prolonged detention and ensure fair legal outcomes," according to Aguirre and Lawson-Remer.

Lawson-Remer said the agreement is "about making sure San Diego County residents are afforded a fair day in court."

Mexican nationals are 24% of those in the county Immigrant Legal Defense Program's existing client database, "making this partnership directly relevant to the program's current caseload," the supervisors added.

Additionally, the county will partner with the consulate to distribute multilingual and culturally related Know Your Rights material at health clinics, libraries and social service offices.

"These resources will help families understand their rights, prepare for potential enforcement actions and plan for the care of their children in emergencies," according to Aguirre and Lawson-Remer.

They added that the agreement "leverages the consulate's trusted role in the community to deliver timely information, and builds on longstanding collaboration to better serve communities and close gaps in access to services."

The Mexican Consulate provides services such as documents, emergency assistance and legal orientation.

"By partnering with the Mexican Consulate, we're meeting people where they are with trusted information, real legal help and a pathway to stability during moments of crisis," Aguirre said.

In a statement Wednesday, Desmond said he voted no because the county "should not be funding the Immigrant Legal Defense Program."

"The last (presidential) administration let millions of people pour across our border unvetted, and now local taxpayers are being asked to foot the bill to defend those same individuals from deportation," Desmond said. "That's not our role. Our job is to invest in infrastructure and the core functions that serve San Diego residents — not to pick up the tab for the federal government's failures."

Last September, supervisors voted 4-1 to expand the ILDP to include unaccompanied immigrant children.

Supervisors first approved the program in 2021 to provide legal representation for immigrants facing deportation proceedings.

La administración de Donald Trump ha convertido a San Diego en un centro de deportaciones al utilizar aeropuertos militares y civiles para vuelos, según datos de una organización sin fines de lucro que rastrea vuelos en todo el país.

Human Rights First documentó casi 120 vuelos de deportación que salieron del Aeropuerto Internacional de San Diego y de la Estación Aérea del Cuerpo de Marines Miramar el año pasado. Esto representa un aumento masivo en comparación con 2024, cuando no hubo ni un solo vuelo de deportación desde San Diego.

“Simplemente ha habido un aumento dramático en la escala respecto al año pasado”, dijo Savi Avery, quien lidera el programa de investigación sobre derechos de refugiados e inmigrantes de la organización y dirige el programa ICE Flight Monitor (del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de EE.UU., ICE por sus siglas en inglés).

Y no es solo Human Rights First quien ha notado el incremento en los vuelos. El residente del área de Miramar, David Kennedy, durante años disfrutó escuchar y ver aviones militares como los F/A-18 Super Hornet volar sobre su casa.

Pero hace aproximadamente un año comenzó a escuchar el sonido de un motor distinto.

“Entonces empecé a asomarme por la ventana y vi estos vuelos comerciales”, dijo Kennedy.

Históricamente, San Diego no había sido un centro de vuelos de deportación.

Las deportaciones aquí solían implicar que agentes federales acompañaran a ciudadanos mexicanos hasta el lado sur de la frontera. Las personas deportadas de otros países generalmente eran trasladadas en avión a otras ciudades de Estados Unidos y deportadas desde ahí.

ICE subcontrata la mayoría de estos vuelos a aerolíneas privadas. En San Diego, la mayoría son operados por GlobalX y Eastern Air Express.

ICE comenzó a utilizar el Aeropuerto Internacional de San Diego para vuelos de deportación en abril de 2025, según datos de Human Rights First. Los vuelos desde Miramar iniciaron en julio.

Avery señaló que esto es un ejemplo de cómo la administración Trump está utilizando la infraestructura militar del país para impulsar su campaña de deportaciones masivas.

Human Rights First también documentó vuelos desde otras tres bases militares ,dos en Texas y una en Georgia, a partir del otoño pasado.

ICE no respondió de inmediato a solicitudes de comentarios ni a preguntas sobre si planea usar más instalaciones militares para estos vuelos.

En un comunicado, la base aérea de Miramar confirmó que su aeropuerto funciona como punto de operación para vuelos civiles, militares y federales, pero no ofreció más detalles sobre los vuelos de ICE.

No es inusual que otras agencias gubernamentales y contratistas utilicen esta base. El avión presidencial de Estados Unidos, Air Force One, ha aterrizado en Miramar en varias ocasiones.

Human Rights First comenzó a rastrear los vuelos de ICE en julio de 2025. Antes, ese trabajo lo realizaba Tom Cartwright, un ejecutivo retirado de JP Morgan en Ohio.

Avery explicó que estos datos de seguimiento son útiles para abogados y familiares de personas detenidas por ICE.

“Definitivamente recibimos mensajes de abogados que pueden estar preocupados de que la administración haya trasladado a alguien en violación de una orden judicial y necesitan detener un vuelo antes de que despegue”, dijo.

En ocasiones, la organización también recibe mensajes de familiares que no saben si su ser querido ya fue deportado y están tratando de localizarlo.

“Nos dicen que eso les da mucha tranquilidad”, añadió Avery.

The Trump administration has turned San Diego into a deportation hub by using military and civilian airports for flights, according to data from a nonprofit tracking flights throughout the country.

Human Rights First documented nearly 120 deportation flights out of San Diego International Airport and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar last year. That’s a massive increase from 2024, when there was not a single deportation flight out of San Diego.

“The scale has just dramatically picked up from the past year,” said Savi Avery, who leads the nonprofit’s refugee and immigrant rights research program and runs the (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) ICE Flight Monitor program.

And it’s not just Human Rights First that’s noticed the increase in flights. Miramar area resident David Kennedy has for years enjoyed hearing and watching F/A-18 Super Hornets and other military planes fly over his home.

But then about a year ago he started hearing the sounds of a different engine.

“So I started to look out my window and saw these commercial flights,” Kennedy said.

Historically, San Diego has not been a deportation flight hub.

Deportations here typically involved federal agents walking Mexican nationals to the south side of the border. Deportees from other countries have historically been flown to other U.S. cities and deported from there.

ICE outsources most of the flights to private carriers. In San Diego, most are handled by Global X and Eastern Air Express.

ICE began using San Diego International Airport for deportation flights in April 2025, according to the data from Human Rights First. Deportation flights out of MCAS Miramar began in July.

Avery said this is an example of the Trump administration using the country’s military infrastructure to advance his mass deportation campaign.

Human Rights First documented flights out of three other military bases, two in Texas and one in Georgia, starting last fall.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment or questions about whether the agency planned to use more military facilities for deportation flights.

In a statement, MCAS Miramar confirmed that its airport acts as a location for civilian, military and federal flights, but did not provide any other specifics regarding the ICE flights.

It’s not unusual for other government agencies and contractors to use the air station. Air Force One, the U.S. presidential plane, has landed at Miramar several times.

Human Rights First began tracking ICE flights in July 2025. Previously, the work was done by Tom Cartwright, a retired JP Morgan executive from Ohio.

Avery said their tracking data is useful to lawyers and relatives of people detained by ICE.

“We definitely get outreach from lawyers who might be concerned that the administration has flown someone in violation of a court order and need to stop a flight from taking off,” she said.

Sometimes, the organization hears from family members who don’t know if their loved one has already been deported and is trying to track them down.

“We hear that gives them a lot of comfort,” Avery added.

But as the U.S. turns 250, during one of the most polarized eras in our history, many cultural historians say the idea that we welcome the world with open arms is far more mythical than factual.

Although the use of the term melting pot to describe the influx of people from different cultures migrating to the U.S. dates back to the 1800s, it became part of our lexicon largely thanks to a Broadway play in 1908.

“Melting Pot: The Great American Drama” is the saga of David Quizano, a Russian man whose entire family was murdered in an anti-Jewish pogrom. He comes to the U.S., falls in love with a Russian Christian immigrant only to find out that her father was the Russian officer responsible for his family’s death.

The play tells the story of how Americans become Americans, according to José-Antonio Orosco, the author of a book, “Toppling the Melting Pot.”

“It’s a story of transition from the Old World to the New World and giving up the Old World to become Americans,” Orosco said.

At the time, people understood the melting pot metaphor to be more about foreigners assimilating to American culture rather than Americans welcoming foreigners as they are, Orosco added.

And it remained that way through the early part of the 20th Century, as the U.S. struggled to figure out how to cope with the mass migration from eastern and southern Europe — when Italians, Germans and Russians came in large numbers.

“There was concern that somehow this particular group of immigrants from these regions would somehow change not just the demographics, but the culture and politics of the United States,” Orosco said.

Succeeding waves of new immigrants found themselves having to choose between holding on to their old culture or joining the new one.

For example, in the 1920s, Norwegians in Minnesota talked about how sad it was that their children could no longer speak their language or know their culture.

Cultural experts note that instead of metaphorically using fresh ingredients to cook up a spicy, multilayered stew … our melting pot has historically made foreign food taste a little bland.

That’s something Jennifer LeMesurier, a writing and rhetoric professor at Colgate University, found in a modern cookbook. It was marketed at Europeans trying to make non-European dishes.

“It said, for this curry — if you want — you can add either one teaspoon of curry powder or mushroom and onion. But not both,” she said. “And that was all the seasoning for the entire stew — which sounds horrible.”

LeMesurier’s research focuses on how people talk about food in relation to race in the U.S. And she’s found that it provides a window into how we’ve always struggled to figure out who is and is not allowed to be American.

Oftentimes, food is used to discriminate against new groups.

“We love spaghetti now, but when the Italians got here people were like, ‘you’re eating worms on a plate,’” she said.

LeMesurier also points to the late 1800s when anti-Chinese rhetoric was rampant in California, with newspapers perpetuating racist tropes of people eating cats and dogs.

“That rumor is very, very old,” she said. "But it’s also familiar."

“We see this with President Trump’s accusations against the Haitian Community in Springfield (Ohio) saying, ‘They’re eating the cats, they’re eating the dogs,’” LeMesurier said.

So, in some respects, we’re having the exact same conversations we had in the 1800s — which is relatively normal.

“History is never linear, progress is never linear,” she said.

That’s one reason why Orosco doesn’t want to give up on the melting pot idea. Just because we haven’t figured out how to get it right in the last 250 years, doesn’t mean we won’t in the next 250 years.

“The way it’s been defined is that if you want to come here you have to fit into the old,” he said. “And that promise of a new exciting future of diversity and inclusion and new experience is something that’s been lost in the discussion of the melting pot.”

Medina Husen has been coming to this food distribution for a decade. She loves the kale especially, and cooks it up with tomato and onion and Maggi Seasoning.

It helps feed her family of five, especially after she cut back on work hours to go to nursing school.

This month, the Trump administration ended federal nutrition assistance eligibility for many immigrant groups, including asylees, refugees, trafficking survivors, abuse victims and Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. The program is known as CalFresh in California.

The change was passed last summer as part of Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill,” and took effect April 1.

The cuts apply to nearly 13,000 San Diego County residents, according to the City Heights Community Development Corporation (CDC), who runs the distribution.

Husen still has her CalFresh benefits, but she hears from others who are losing them.

“I do hear, you know, people getting terrorized by, you know, whether or not they will be able to, you know, feed the family the whole month,” she said.

City Heights CDC staff said about one-third of the area’s residents are foreign-born. They’re working to expand their food programs following the federal cuts.

“It's already a vulnerable population, right? Folks are coming into this country. Some of them, you know, they might not speak English, it might be just their second language,” said Javier Gomez, the organization’s chief advising officer.

He said food distributions like this one become even more important as fear of immigration enforcement grows and families are avoiding restaurants and grocery stores.

The cuts have ripple effects, he said. They force choices between groceries and gas, medical and light bills.

And when the federal government cuts the benefits, “it’s not just cutting it for the adult or it’s not just cutting it for the elder, right? It’s cutting it for the children in the household. It’s cutting it for the whole family,” he said.

The City Heights CDC has been getting more calls for food assistance, Gomez said.

“We're seeing a spike of need, but we know that's just the tip of it and it's just starting,” he said.

CalFresh recipients affected by the cuts will not be able to renew their benefits when they expire, meaning the need will grow over time.

As the federal government slashes the safety net beneath them, Husen has hope in the strength of her City Heights community. She believes neighbors will help each other.

The question of who is born an American is on the national stage.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in the case about whether President Donald Trump can limit birthright citizenship via executive order, restricting that status to children born in the country to U.S. citizens or legal residents.

This would mark a historic change to the 14th Amendment which has long been interpreted as granting citizenship to any person born in the United States.

The debate about who should, or should not, be a citizen of the United States has deep roots, and California is a prime case study.

Jane Hong is an Associate Professor of History at Occidental College and is a historian of U.S. immigration. She spoke with Insight Host Vicki Gonzalez about how immigration policy has been shaped in the Golden State.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Interview highlights

When looking at the history of U.S. immigration laws, which go back more than a century, what is unique about California?

There's so much that's unique about California. I’m from New Jersey, and there’s this idea of “California exceptionalism” that I think a lot of folks bristle at in other parts of the country. But when it comes to immigration history, California really is a special place.

California, from its very beginnings as a territory and as a state, had a much more multiracial population than most other states in the country, particularly states in the Northeast. You had indigenous populations, large Latinx populations, Asian Americans, as well as Black Americans and White Americans… even before the Gold Rush days. When you think about that multiracial history, that just creates an entire set of dynamics where folks are not just thinking about the black-white color line, they're not just thinking about race through that lens.

Even today just thinking about how many immigrants live in California, I think nationally the average of foreign-born residents is something around 15%. In California over one-fourth of the population is foreign-born.

How did this diversity in the Golden State’s early days shape immigration and policy?

If you take a look at some of the earliest laws passed by the California territorial legislature and once it became a state, many of [them] aiming to restrict folks from coming in didn't just target Black Americans, but actually targeted Chinese. There were laws passed to restrict where different folks could settle.

Another thing that has to be said is that California used to be Mexico. And so when you think about how California came into the United States, it was captured after the Mexican-American War of 1848. So you already had a lot of folks who were just Mexican, who were living on this land. They didn’t move, but the government of the territory — who was controlling the land — changed after 1848. Not to mention the indigenous folks who have been here before everyone else was here, and who continue to be here today.

How did this complicate immigration policy, deciding who gets to live where and who gets to be part of this country, through that California lens?

There is a longer history. Folks will often ask, “was the U.S. open borders before the 1880s [or] 1870s?” I think a lot of historians have done work to show that individual states and territories tried really hard to restrict who was coming into their jurisdiction. Massachusetts [and] New York, they were trying to keep out Irish paupers. Oregon tried to ban Black residents in the 1840s, back when it was a territory.

But the way that the government set up it's really the U.S. Congress that was supposed to be in charge of U.S. immigration and naturalization policy. So we begin to see federal immigration restrictions targeting Chinese in the 1870s and 1880s. That's around the time that the United States doesn't just create an anti-Chinese exclusion regime, it also creates an entire U.S. immigration bureaucracy with the 1882 Immigration Act.

Things really do change because now the federal government hires immigration officials. They begin to monitor or track who’s coming into the United States, what kinds of people they’re trying to bring in, what kinds of people they eventually try to exclude. Chinese are obviously some of the first people, but later a lot of those exclusions and restrictions get expanded to other groups, including all Asians by the early 20th century.

Has race always been connected to U.S. immigration policy?

I would say so. I think immigration and naturalization policy have always been kind of entangled. The fact that the Chinese Exclusion Act gets passed the same year as the 1882 Immigration Act and Chinese are the first targets of U.S. federal immigration restrictions, that tells you something about how people are imagining who is part of the American nation.

You can see it as early as the 1790 Naturalization [Act] which restricts U.S. citizenship to “free white persons.” That law sets the groundwork for a racialized idea of who belongs to the nation, and who can actually exercise voting rights and other privileges in the nation.

Of course that changes as time goes on. After the Civil War, once formerly-enslaved Black Americans are emancipated, the 14th Amendment was created. The birthright citizenship piece that we're talking about now, that gets created and passed primarily to create a legal status for Black Americans. And so 1860s onward, persons of African descent are able to become citizens, anyone born on U.S. soil is able to become a U.S. citizen. [In the] 1880s certain Native Americans, indigenous folks are able to become U.S. citizens under very specific circumstances… that's the Dawes Act.

I need to say this because I don't think most folks realize this. U.S. citizenship [was] racially restricted; there are racial restrictions until 1952. I study Asian immigration at length; one of the things that really distinguishes Asian immigration to the U.S. is that unless you were born on U.S. soil, if you came from Asia you could not become a citizen because of your race…. That did not change until the Cold War.

So much of that history looked at race, but also the timing and era in which you’re looking at U.S. policies.

Those histories are really fascinating to think about. I think there are contemporary parallels as well. When you think about the politics of immigrants, the children of immigrants, and then once you get to the third, fourth, fifth generation, I think there's a way in which people who feel kind of far from the migration experience might not think about these laws as relevant to them or to their lives.

But for all people who live in the United States, immigration and naturalization policy matter a lot because they really set the stage for what this country is. Is this country a multiracial democracy or is it something else? When you think about what it means to be American, the United States is not exceptional. But because of how powerful it has been, especially since the World War II period, you can't ignore the United States. What the U.S. does in terms of which immigrants it admits [and] which ones it doesn’t, those decisions have huge implications globally.

I just want to emphasize again how much power law has to shape and transform people's lives. For folks who are watching the news and thinking, "birthright citizenship, this doesn't really apply to me,” it kind of does insofar as we have to think about what kind of nation we want to live in? If you have children or other folks in your life, what kind of nation do you want them to live in… who should be able to participate?

What would you like people to better understand about why birthright citizenship, as it has been interpreted in the United States, has existed this way? 

First I would say out of 190+ countries in the world, about 30-35 countries offer unconditional birthright citizenship, this includes the United States. This means citizenship goes to children born on U.S. soil regardless of their parents' status.

Every country has its own very distinct history, but [in] the United States if you even just look back at early American writings — late 1700s, early 1800s, people are thinking about the United States as a nation of immigrants. A speech by the famed black abolitionist Frederick Douglass writing in the 1860s is called the “Composite Nationa.” Douglass is writing about Black folks, white folks, indigenous folks, Chinese and Japanese immigrants coming to the U.S., and he’s describing really a multiracial democracy where all of those people can coexist and participate in the nation.

I think this idea of the United States as a multiracial democracy has very long historical origin, so the proposal to change the way that it gets practiced today after more than a century, that's really something to take very seriously and to watch very carefully.

What are some big misconceptions that you'd like to address?

One thing I'd like to make sure folks realize is just how hard it is to become a U.S. citizen. There’s this conception that folks are just willy-nilly entering, and just everyone can become a citizen. That has never really been true. As I just described, there have been racial restrictions on U.S. citizenship from most of U.S. history.

But if you even think about the immigration system today, I can't tell you how long the lines are for people who are trying to apply for legal pathways to enter the United States, much less become U.S. citizens. The backlog is many years, decades in some cases. It really isn't a matter of people showing up and getting what they want, that's not how it works.

The other thing I want to emphasize is just how contingent and arbitrary immigration naturalization policies have been in the United States. The way that these laws develop, ordinary folks don't have a lot of control over [them] and yet these laws shape and impact so many people's lives.

But I think it's really important to have empathy and to understand contingency in these histories. And also to think about what could have been, but also to think about what could still be.

El año pasado, la Oficina del Sheriff del condado de San Diego transfirió a casi tres veces más personas detenidas a la custodia del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE) que en 2024, según un informe anual.

El aumento drástico en estas transferencias se debe casi por completo a un incremento en las órdenes federales emitidas por ICE, lo que ha reavivado los llamados para que la sheriff Kelly Martinez ponga fin a esta práctica.

Bajo las leyes de “santuario” de California, los sheriffs pueden transferir a personas inmigrantes detenidas a ICE siempre y cuando hayan sido condenadas por ciertos delitos o si ICE presenta una orden federal.

En 2025, los agentes del sheriff transfirieron a 83 personas a ICE, frente a 30 transferencias en 2024. Martinez compartió estas cifras la semana pasada durante un foro público. Los datos muestran que 53 de las transferencias en 2025 se realizaron con base en órdenes federales.

Aunque muchas de las 83 personas tenían condenas por delitos violentos como homicidio, agresión, secuestro y abuso infantil, varias tenían delitos no violentos cometidos años atrás.

Por ejemplo, un ciudadano mexicano con una condena por robo en 1996 fue arrestado nuevamente en mayo de 2025 por posesión de drogas. La Oficina del Sheriff utilizó la condena de 1996 como justificación para transferirlo.

Familiares de uno de los hombres transferidos el año pasado, Cosme Koutalou, dijeron que llevaba 15 años viviendo en Estados Unidos.“La situación migratoria está completamente fuera de control”, dijo su tía, Memee Hernández, durante el foro. “Que te detengan por vidrios polarizados… y luego te arresten y te envíen a quién sabe dónde, imagínense cómo nos sentimos”.

Los registros muestran que Koutalou, ciudadano cubano, fue condenado por robo en 2022 y arrestado nuevamente en enero de 2025 por violar su libertad condicional. Días después fue transferido a ICE y posteriormente deportado a México.

Defensores de los inmigrantes pidieron a Martinez que deje de transferir a residentes de San Diego a ICE. Señalan que la ley estatal es discrecional, es decir, no obliga a los sheriffs a realizar estas transferencias, solo las permite. Activistas destacaron que otros condados, como Los Ángeles, ya han dejado de hacerlo.

La supervisora del condado, Paloma Aguirre, dijo que las leyes de santuario buscan fortalecer la confianza entre las autoridades locales y las comunidades inmigrantes, y argumentó que estas transferencias la debilitan.

“Sabemos que estamos viviendo en un momento en el que el miedo es real en nuestras comunidades; incluso lo llamaría terror”, dijo.

Hacia el final del foro, Aguirre preguntó a Martinez si planeaba cambiar la política de su oficina.

Martinez respondió que no. Afirmó que es más seguro para los agentes de ICE recoger a las personas dentro de las cárceles del condado que salir a las comunidades, donde podrían terminar arrestando a personas sin antecedentes penales, lo que ICE denomina “arrestos colaterales”.

“Si salen a la comunidad, habrá daños colaterales, y esa es mi mayor preocupación”, dijo Martinez.

En 2024, los supervisores del condado intentaron limitar la capacidad de Martinez para transferir detenidos a ICE. Sin embargo, ella ha sostenido que, como funcionaria electa de manera independiente, tiene la autoridad “única y exclusiva” para operar el sistema de cárceles del condado.

Reps. Sara Jacobs, D-San Diego, and Mike Levin, D-Oceanside, said they visited a holding area, medical facilities, law library and chapel.

Levin said it’s hard to know whether what they saw on Thursday reflects day-to-day conditions at the facility, which is run by private prison operator CoreCivic.

“How much of that was for us, versus how much is the standard, ordinary course of how they conduct business day in and day out?” he said. “That's why it's important that in addition to the tours that we just took, which we had announced in advance, that we come unannounced.”

California Sen. Alex Padilla was denied access to the detention center during an unannounced visit in February.

San Diego County Supervisors Paloma Aguirre and Terra Lawson-Remer also tried to inspect the facility the same day as Padilla but were also denied. The County sued the Department of Homeland Security this month, saying California law allows counties to conduct public health inspections at private detention centers.

On Thursday, Levin described the medical facility and its cleanliness as being “roughly on par” with civilian facilities.

“I believe that they're doing the best that they can with the staff that they have in the circumstances that they find themselves in,” he said.

The Department of Homeland Security says detention facilities provide medical intake screenings and access to 24-hour emergency care.

Levin said detention center staff told him that if someone misses three doses of medication, staff follow up with them.

“There really is an attempt to follow up and ensure that they are taking the medication that's needed,” he said. “Although, again, this is what we're all hearing.”

Levin has conducted a congressional oversight visit at the facility before. He said he spoke to a detainee last time he was there.

“He was getting the medication that he needed,” Levin said. “He said the food was not great, but it also was edible. You know, eating the same thing over and over again is not going to be the best.”

Levin and Jacobs also sampled the food at the facility’s cafeteria. Levin said it was pork and beans and a hot dog, and “it was relatively fresh and edible.”

Jacobs said her office had requested to speak with detainees during the visit, but that a miscommunication between federal officials and the facility meant it didn’t happen on schedule.

“They finally offered it right at the very end, when we had ten minutes left,” she said. “So we've let them know that we will plan on coming back to meet with folks, because we do think it's really important to hear from the people directly who are in here, what they're experiencing.”

Jacobs and Levin said they plan to conduct unannounced oversight visits in the coming months.

"It's clear that birthright citizenship is for everyone," said Kathleen Dang, a board member for the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, one of the oldest Chinese organizations in San Diego.

She was born in San Diego to Chinese-Vietnamese immigrant parents. Under current law, that makes her an American citizen. Her concern is what might happen if President Donald Trump prevails at the Supreme Court.

“There's definitely that worry of how this would impact the, you know, estimating millions of people and hundreds and thousands of families who have been coming to the United States for over 150 years," she said. "Would this be impacted all the way up our family trees?”

On his first day in office for his second term, Trump signed an executive order declaring that children born to parents who are in the United States unlawfully or temporarily are not U.S. citizens. The order has been blocked by a lower court and has yet to go into effect.

University of San Diego School of Law Dean Robert Schapiro said the order upends the traditional understanding of who is a citizen, rooted in the 14th Amendment and the Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Wong Kim Ark in 1898.

"The state of California argued that even though Wong was born in the state, because his parents did not have any kind of permanent status, that he was not a citizen," he said. "And the Supreme Court, with the language of the opinion, said that, 'Oh, yes, he is a citizen.'"

That case was settled nearly 130 years ago, but now it’s being dragged into the present with some of the same arguments being made. He said there could be many implications for the children of immigrants.

Schapiro said it could affect “the feeling in this country for the children of immigrants,” including how secure they feel and the uncertainty it may inject into their lives.

That feeling is more acute in the Asian community, who have always been seen as perpetual foreigners, Dang said, despite some families having been here for more than 150 years.

"The historic racism that (Wong) experienced at that time, we can't forget that because unfortunately, still there's still some societal and racist feelings present here for Asian Americans today,” she said.

Another issue this case brings up is what happens to foundlings — babies who are given up at fire stations or hospitals — or children whose parents were later found to be here unlawfully or temporarily.

"One thing you can say about birthright citizenship is it's clear, if you're born here, then you're a citizen," Schapiro said. "So, trying to document and prove who was a citizen and was not a citizen would be a major issue under this executive order.”

That issue was a concern for the justices at the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Their ruling is expected this summer.

It was a Holy Week reenactment of how Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem, where he faced trial before being crucified.

They wanted to show migrants the same reverence as they entered their place of judgment.

Sister Francina Vivier volunteers accompanying migrants to their immigration hearings and interviews.

Many migrants come alone, without legal representation or family, she said. Often, they speak limited English.

“All the terminology, all the jargon — people are afraid because they've received a letter, they don't know what it means,” she said.

She said going in with them to the courtroom wasn't an issue with staff.

“It’s supposed to be open to the public. So in August, I would go up and I would tell them that I was here to be, to observe, just to sit in the back court. And that was very — it was very easily done,” she said.

But she said restrictions have tightened in recent weeks. She’s been asked to wait outside the courtroom, sometimes for half an hour.

And on the second floor, where interviews and detentions take place, “They've put up a sign there that says, ‘No loitering.’ Again, two weeks ago, I was asked to leave, and if I didn't, I would be escorted out by federal police,” she said.

She said one volunteer received a citation for standing and praying for migrants.

Wednesday morning, Bishop Michael Pham reaffirmed the church’s commitment to continue coming anyway.

“Despite these challenges, we are here today to publicly proclaim that we are not going away,” he said. “We are not afraid. We will not be intimidated to stop doing what we do.”

Together, the crowd prayed for the migrants: that they would receive necessary medications and wouldn’t die in detention; that they would be given adequate food and humane treatment; that families would not be forced into deeper hardship after losing jobs and wages; that no one would stand alone.

“We are here, amen?” he called out.

“Amen,” the crowd responded.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review did not immediately answer KPBS’s questions about the restrictions.

In February, Reverend Scott Santarosa of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish sent a letter requesting a meeting with Judge Catherine Halliday-Roberts, the acting assistant chief immigration judge in San Diego, and the court administration. He said he never heard back.

Last year, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office transferred almost three times more inmates to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody than in 2024, according to an annual transfer report.

The dramatic increase in transfers is almost entirely due to a spike in federal warrants from ICE and has led to renewed calls for Sheriff Kelly Martinez to end the practice.

Under California’s sanctuary laws, county sheriffs can transfer immigrant inmates to ICE custody as long as they’ve been convicted of certain crimes or if ICE presents a federal warrant.

In 2025, sheriff’s deputies transferred 83 people to ICE custody, up from 30 transfers in 2024. Martinez shared the numbers last week during a public forum. Data show federal warrants accounted for 53 of the 2025 transfers.

While many of the 83 transfers had violent criminal convictions like murder, assault, kidnapping and child abuse, several had nonviolent offenses from several years ago.

For example, a Mexican national with a 1996 robbery conviction was rearrested for drug possession in May 2025. The Sheriff’s Office used the 1996 conviction as justification for the transfer.

Relatives of one man transferred last year, Cosme Koutalou, said he had been in the U.S. for 15 years.

“Immigration is getting completely out of control,” his aunt Memee Hernandez, said at the forum. “Being pulled over for tinted windows … and then being arrested and sent to the middle of nowhere, just imagine how we feel.”

Records show Koutalou, a Cuban national, was convicted of robbery in 2022 and rearrested for a parole violation in January 2025. A few days later he was transferred to ICE custody and then deported to Mexico.

Immigrant advocates at the forum asked Martinez to stop transferring San Diegans to ICE custody. They point out that state sanctuary law is discretionary — meaning it does not force sheriffs to transfer inmates, it merely allows them to. Activists noted that other counties, like Los Angeles, have ended the practice.

County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre said the state’s sanctuary laws are meant to increase trust between local law enforcement and immigrant communities. And she argued transferring inmates to ICE custody erodes that trust.

“We know we’re living in a time where fear is real in our communities, I would even call it terror,” she said.

Toward the end of the forum, Aguirre asked Martinez whether she planned to change her office’s policy.

Martinez said she would not. She said it’s safer for ICE agents to pick up targets in county jails instead of going out in the community and potentially arresting people with no criminal history — a practice ICE describes as “collateral arrests.”

“If they’re going to go into the community, there will be collateral damage and that’s my biggest concern,” Martinez said.

In 2024, county supervisors tried to limit Martinez’s ability to transfer inmates to ICE. However, Martinez has argued that, as an independently elected official, she has the “sole and exclusive” authority to operate the county jail system.

Decenas de miles de manifestantes en el condado de San Diego se unieron el sábado en ciudades por todo Estados Unidos para protestar y marchar bajo el lema "No a los reyes" (No kings) contra lo que consideran las políticas migratorias autocráticas del presidente Donald Trump.

La mayor concentración y marcha tuvo lugar en el centro de San Diego, en Waterfront Park, junto al Centro de Administración del Condado. Fue una de las más de 20 protestas realizadas en todo el condado.

"La marcha de hoy concluyó sin incidentes. No se realizaron arrestos, no se reportaron delitos y se levantaron todos los cierres de calles en el centro", informó el Departamento de Policía de San Diego en un comunicado publicado poco después del mediodía del sábado en las redes sociales. "Agradecemos a nuestra comunidad por contribuir a que hoy fuera un evento seguro y exitoso".

Los cierres de calles en el centro de la ciudad se levantaron a primera hora de la tarde.

“Los residentes de San Diego se están movilizando por preocupaciones relacionadas con la aplicación de las leyes de inmigración, los recortes a los programas sociales y el uso de la autoridad ejecutiva por parte de la administración”, dijeron los organizadores en un comunicado de prensa antes de las protestas. “Señalan el aumento de los arrestos por parte del ICE (Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas), los recortes y reducciones en la atención médica, Medicaid y los programas de nutrición escolar, así como el trato a las personas detenidas en el Centro de Detención de Otay Mesa, como problemas que afectan a las familias locales de San Diego”.

Entre los oradores en la manifestación en Waterfront Park se encontraban las supervisoras del condado de San Diego, Terra Lawson-Remer y Paloma Aguirre; el pastor Manuel Retamoza, de The Border Church; y Lorena González, presidenta de la Federación de Sindicatos Laborales de California.

Los eventos realizados en todo el condado de San Diego también incluyeron manifestaciones en Ocean Beach, La Jolla, Carmel Valley, Mira Mesa, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Escondido, Fallbrook, Rancho Bernardo, Ramona, La Mesa, El Cajón, Chula Vista, Otay Mesa y Borrego Springs.

Los organizadores pidieron la destitución y remoción de Trump, así como la abolición del ICE. El Día Nacional de Acción No Violenta “No Kings” reunió a más de 3,000 comunidades en todo el país con manifestaciones simultáneas.

Las protestas contaron con el respaldo local de más de 30 organizaciones.

Tens of thousands of protesters in San Diego County joined others in cities across the United States Saturday for "No Kings" protests and marches against what they called the autocratic immigration policies of President Donald Trump.

The largest rally and march took place in downtown San Diego at Waterfront Park next to the County Administration Center. It was one of more than 20 protests held across the county.

"Today's march concluded safely. No arrests were made, no crimes were reported, and all downtown road closures have been lifted," the San Diego Police Departmen said in a statement posted shortly after noon Saturday on social media. "Thank you to our community for helping make today a safe and successful event."

Downtown road closures were lifted by early afternoon.

"San Diego residents are mobilizing over concerns about immigration enforcement, cuts to social programs and the administration's use of executive authority," organizers said in a news release before the protests. "They point to increased (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) ICE arrests, cuts and reductions to healthcare, Medicaid and school nutrition programs and the treatment of detainees at the Otay Mesa Detention Center as issues affecting local San Diego families."

Speakers at the Waterfront Park rally included San Diego County Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Paloma Aguirre, Pastor Manuel Retamoza of The Border Church and Lorena Gonzalez, the California Federation of Labor Unions president.

The events held across San Diego County also included demonstrations in Ocean Beach, La Jolla, Carmel Valley, Mira Mesa, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Escondido, Fallbrook, Rancho Bernardo, Ramona, La Mesa, El Cajon, Chula Vista, Otay Mesa and Borrego Springs.

The organizers called for the impeachment and removal of Trump and the abolition of ICE. The No Kings National Day of Nonviolent Action saw more than 3,000 communities nationwide hold simultaneous demonstrations.

The rallies were supported locally by more than 30 organizations.

Tom Wong, associate professor of political science and director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center surveyed hundreds of people in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The research is the first to publish the broad range of effects from the federal immigration enforcement action known as Operation Metro Surge.

“Learning about, and understanding, what happened in Minnesota has become incredibly important — not just to document it historically, but also to kind of think about (what would happen) if San Diego might be next,” Wong said. “How might other states and cities compare.”

The federal government deployed thousands of ICE and Border Patrol agents to the Twin Cities between February and March. Videos of federal agents arresting immigrants and facing off against protesters quickly went viral.

Incidents like federal agents arresting 5-year-old Liam Cornejo Ramos, and fatally shooting U.S. citizens Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti inspired nationwide protests.

Beyond the headlines, Wong’s research suggests the broader impacts of Operation Metro Surge are far more reaching.

In the survey, nearly 60% of Twin City residents said they are now less likely to trust local law enforcement because of what they witnessed from federal immigration agents.

That lack of trust translates to lack of cooperation — with 40% percent of respondents saying they are less likely to seek help from law enforcement going forward.

Wong said having fewer people call 911 to report crimes could have negative public safety consequences in the Twin Cities.

ICE did not respond to a KPBS request for comment.

The survey also measured the economic toll of Operation Metro Surge. Wong found that 35% of people in Minneapolis and 20% of people in St. Paul said they missed work because of the federal operation.

People who missed work were not only undocumented immigrants fearful of being arrested by federal agents. The study shows immigration enforcement also impacted U.S. citizens and legal immigrants’ ability to work.

According to the survey, two thirds of people did not go to work because their place of employment was closed. More than one third of people who didn’t work were parents who stayed home because their child care providers were unavailable.

People with legal status may think immigration enforcement doesn’t affect them, Wong added, but the results showed almost $200 million in lost wages.

Those lost wages translate to lost economic output and fewer tax revenues.

“You have a huge economic loss that accrues to cities as a result of people not being able to work and not being able to spend,” Wong said.

The research also showed decreased school attendance and hospital visits connected to Operation Metro Surge.

Wong believes other cities can look to Operation Metro Surge as a warning for what they could experience if the Trump administration continues to launch similar operations. Understanding what may come their way can help them prepare for the enforcement surge and limit negative impacts.

“A study like this, which shows the broad implications, I think helps cities and states prepare and also potentially fight back,” he said.

San Diego County Sheriff’s officials failed to investigate at least seven reported sexual assaults at the privately run Otay Mesa immigration detention center in 2025, and records show the agency has ceded control of the cases to civilian administrators employed by the nation’s largest for-profit prison contractor.

Under a 2020 memorandum of understanding between the sheriff’s department and CoreCivic, detention center Warden Christopher LaRose has authority to decide whether to investigate rape allegations at the facility, which currently houses just under 1,500 federal immigration detainees, most of whom are in custody awaiting hearings and have not been convicted of a crime.

CalMatters obtained the memorandum after seeking additional information about the alleged rapes and four attempted sexual assaults through a California Public Records Act request. While a sheriff’s spokesperson said the agency was not investigating those cases, he said he was unable to turn over additional records because they were part of “a law enforcement investigation.”

“When a matter requires law enforcement intervention, we refer it to the appropriate authorities,” CoreCivic spokesperson Ryan Gustin said in a statement.

The company manages the detention center under a contract with the Department of Homeland Security and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations. ICE officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gustin said all allegations are recorded in a database, and “refer any potentially criminal matter to law enforcement.”

“Substantiated allegations result in disciplinary action and, where appropriate, referral for prosecution,” Gustin said. “If an individual is found to be at substantial risk of imminent sexual abuse, immediate protective action is taken.”

Seven privately run immigrant detention centers operate in California, with CoreCivic holding contracts for two of them. It could not immediately be determined if other detention centers have similar agreements with local law enforcement agencies.

“We’re horrified but not surprised to learn that numerous sexual assaults went uninvestigated at a CoreCivic facility,” said Susan Beaty, senior attorney with the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice advocacy group.

“Local and state enforcement agencies have a responsibility to use their power to protect the rights of Californians in detention, and hold accountable both ICE and private prison companies that profit to the tune of billions of taxpayer dollars to incarcerate immigrants in our state.”

On its website, CoreCivic states it has a “zero tolerance” policy against all forms of sexual abuse and sexual harassment. “CoreCivic has outlined an aggressive plan specifying the efforts we undertake to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to all allegations of conduct that falls into either category,” the company states.

A 2022 audit conducted by the outside company Creative Corrections found the facility met all federal standards for preventing sexual assaults.

San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said she plans to question San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez at a hearing Tuesday night on ICE transfers from county jails.

“I do not have much confidence at all in CoreCivic’s ability to investigate these very serious allegations,” she said earlier this month.

San Diego County is in the midst of a separate legal battle with CoreCivic over the Otay Mesa Detention Center. In a lawsuit filed this month, the county alleges the Trump administration and Tennessee-based CoreCivic illegally blocked a public health inspection of the Otay Mesa Detention Center. According to the lawsuit, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement initially cleared county officials to enter the facility but reversed that decision when the inspection team arrived.

Overall, there were 142 calls for service to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department for the Otay Mesa Detention Center in 2024. Fourteen 14 were identified as related to the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), a 2003 federal law designed to prevent, detect and respond to sexual abuse and harassment in correctional facilities.

Last year, there were 159 calls for service to the Otay Mesa facility. Twenty-one calls were related to the Prison Rape Elimination Act, and of those, seven were allegations of rape.

CalMatters used a Public Records Act request to obtain a digital log generated by 911 dispatchers and emergency services for 2024 and 2025.

CalMatters attempted to obtain additional records about the sexual assault and attempted sexual assault incidents, such as the audio recordings of the 911 calls and the full dispatch log, but the sheriff’s department refused to release them stating the records were “records of a law enforcement investigation, or any investigatory or security files compiled by a law enforcement agency are exempt from disclosure.”

The records CalMatters obtained gave no indication whether the victims were detainees or employees. Similarly, the records gave no indication about the perpetrators.

The department’s memorandum of understanding with CoreCivic was signed and dated by former San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore in 2020.

“Under the Memorandum of Understanding…the facility’s Warden is responsible for investigating any allegation of sexual assault or abuse,” said Lt. David Collins, the media relations director for the sheriff’s department. Collins referred further questions about the incidents to CoreCivic.

He said CoreCivic “did not request our involvement” for any cases last year.

“Because no criminal investigations were initiated by the Sheriff’s Office, no reports were forwarded to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office for consideration of charges,” he said.

If deputies had investigated, the MOU would require them to forward their findings to CoreCivic.

“Upon completion/closure of an investigation, Investigating Agency will forward a copy of the investigation report to the Facility for retention as part of Facility’s record-keeping requirements,” the MOU states.

El sindicato United Farm Workers anunció el martes que se ha distanciado de las celebraciones anuales en honor a su fundador, César Chávez, en medio de lo que calificó como preocupantes acusaciones, las cuales no especificó.

El sindicato indicó en un comunicado que las acusaciones de "abuso de mujeres jóvenes o menores" eran lo suficientemente inquietantes como para hacer un llamado a personas en todo el país a participar en eventos a favor de la justicia migratoria en lugar de las celebraciones habituales del mes de marzo para conmemorar el legado de Chávez.

El organismo sindical señaló que no ha recibido denuncias directas de abuso y que no tiene conocimiento de primera mano sobre las acusaciones. Ni el sindicato ni la Fundación César Chávez respondieron a las solicitudes de comentarios por parte de The Associated Press.

"Algunos de los reportes son asuntos familiares, y no nos corresponde contar esa historia", indicó el sindicato en su comunicado.

Varias eventos en honor a Chávez en San Francisco, Texas y su estado natal, Arizona, fueron cancelados a petición de la fundación, la cual también explicó que se ha enterado de acusaciones perturbadoras sobre Chávez mientras fue presidente del sindicato. Los organizadores de los eventos cancelados no respondieron de momento a solicitudes de comentarios de la AP.

Ambos grupos afirmaron que realizarán labores para establecer mecanismos para que cualquier persona que haya sido perjudicada por Chávez pueda compartir su experiencia de manera confidencial.

"Estas acusaciones han sido sumamente impactantes", señaló el sindicato en el comunicado. "Necesitamos algo de tiempo para hacer las cosas bien, incluso para garantizar que haya una amplia red de servicios informados sobre trauma a disposición de quienes puedan necesitarlos".

California se convirtió en el primer estado en establecer el 31 de marzo --cumpleaños de Chávez-- como un día para conmemorar el legado del líder laboral. Otros estados siguieron el ejemplo. En 2014, el entonces presidente Barack Obama proclamó el 31 de marzo como el Día Nacional de César Chávez, haciendo un llamado a los estadounidenses a honrar su legado.

Varias calles, escuelas y parques llevan el nombre de Chávez. Nacido en Yuma, Arizona, Chávez creció en una familia mexicoestadounidense que trabajaba cosechando lechuga, uvas, algodón y otros cultivos de temporada en distintos puntos de California. Murió en 1993, a los 66 años, en California.

Chávez es conocido a nivel nacional por su temprana labor en la organización de los campos, una huelga de hambre, un boicot a la uva y su eventual victoria al conseguir que los productores y trabajadores agrícolas negociaran mejores salarios y condiciones laborales.

Chávez y Dolores Huerta cofundaron la Asociación Nacional de Trabajadores Agrícolas en 1962, que se convirtió en United Farm Workers of America.

Los trabajadores agrícolas son cruciales para la agroindustria en California, donde se producen casi la mitad de las frutas, frutos secos y verduras del país.

Chávez protestó contra los bajos salarios y condiciones de trabajo a menudo miserables. No había baños en los campos para las personas que trabajaban desyerbando los campos con azadones de mango corto, quienes se veían obligadas a pasar varias horas seguidas en una posición encorvada.

Los patrones ignoraban frecuentemente la salud y el salario de sus trabajadores, muchos de los cuales eran hispanohablantes que estaban en el país de manera temporal o sin autorización legal y tenían poca influencia política o legal para evitar abusos.

___

Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

Trump administration officials denied accusations from San Diego County officials that conditions are substandard at the Otay Mesa Detention Center.

County officials released a report Saturday that found the average daily population at the center has increased by approximately 200% in recent years, and said the increase is raising public-health concerns and significantly increasing the cost of providing legal representation to protect constitutional due-process rights.

Some county leaders say access to medical care is increasingly at issue. The report was released as the county seeks a preliminary injunction in federal court after being denied access to conduct a scheduled public-health inspection of the facility.

"Mass detention is a policy choice, and it is creating both a constitutional crisis and growing public-health concerns as facilities struggle to keep pace," San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said. "People are being swept off our streets and locked in overcrowded facilities while local officials are blocked from inspecting conditions. As due-process protections are eroded at the federal level, counties like ours are being forced to step in, at significant cost, to defend the Constitution and the rule of law."

The Department of Homeland Security issued the following statement Sunday to City News Service:

"ICE is regularly audited and inspected by external agencies to ensure that all ICE facilities comply with performance-based national detention standards. All detainees are provided with proper meals, quality water, blankets, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers. ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.

"It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody. This includes medical, dental, and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility, a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care," the DHS statement continued.

"This is the best health care many aliens have received in their entire lives. Meals are certified by dieticians. Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE."

Lawson-Remer said that because the county's Immigrant Legal Defense Program provides legal representation only to individuals who are detained or subject to alternative detention, rising detention levels are directly expanding the number of people eligible for assistance.

"When local officials are prevented from inspecting detention facilities, legal representation becomes one of the only safeguards protecting health, safety, and constitutional rights," she said.

The report found the program's average monthly active detained case load grew from about 56 clients in fiscal year 2021-22 to almost 800 in FY 2024- 25, with projections of roughly 1,200 active clients per month in the current fiscal year.

Officials said the surge reflects both newly detained individuals entering the system and the prolonged detention of clients whose immigration cases often span multiple years, a dynamic that is driving sustained increases in attorney staffing needs and long-term program costs.

Projected legal representation costs were estimated to reach about $12.6 million next year and $17.3 million in FY 2027-28. The program's current annual funding level is about $5 million.

El sonido de un agente de ICE quebrando la ventana de un auto suena como a un disparo.

O al menos así se escuchó para Veronica Olivo en la mañana del 2 de febrero, cuando agentes de ICE arrestaron a sus esposo, Alejandro, y su hijo mayor, Bryan. Alejandro le llamó a Veronica justo antes de que su ventana se rompiera.

La madre de 5 hijos, preocupada, escuchó un fuerte estallido.

''Luego colgó,'' dijo Veronica.

Unos minutos más tarde, uno de los compañeros de trabajo de Alejandro llamó a Veronica para decirle que ICE se había llevado a su esposo y a su hijo. Era poco más temprano de las 8 a.m., y apenas había regresado de dejar a los niños más pequeños en la escuela.

Alejandro y Bryan son un par de los miles de San Dieguinos que han sido arrestados durante la campaña de deportaciones masivas del Presidente Donald Trump. La familia Olivo decidió compartir su historia con la esperanza de ayudar a otras familias que están pasando por lo mismo.

Alejandro es indocumentado, y Bryan cuenta con estatus legal a través del programa de Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia (DACA, por sus siglas en inglés).

Veronica dijo que las semanas después del arresto estuvieron llenas de lágrimas, confusión y enojo. Pero la familia de 7 nunca se dio por vencida.

Lo primero que hizo fue llamar a todos los que conocía, desde las escuelas de sus hijos, equipos de futból, trabajo y viejos amigos.

"En una hora la casa estaba llena de gente", dijo Veronica. "Y así permaneció todo el día."

La gente llamó a abogados de inmigración, llevó comida, e incluso ayudaron a juntar dinero para cubrir la renta y los gastos mientras Alejandro, quien era el de mayor ingresos, se encontraba detenido en el Centro de Detención de Otay Mesa.

El siguiente fin de semana, la familia organizó un evento en un restaurante mexicano para recaudar fondos. Veronica y sus amigos cocinaron, uno de sus hijos trabajó en la caja registradora, mientras que la única hija de la familia sirvió los platos. Los dos niños más pequeños recogieron los platos sucios.

Diferentes formas de afrontar la situación

En casa, cada integrante de la familia lo enfrentó a su manera.

Beckhams, el segundo hijo mayor, al principio estaba en estado de shock. Dijo que no quería creer que su papá y su hermano ya no estaban con ellos. Pero sabía que negar lo que estaba pasando no era una opción.

“Me recompuse”, dijo. “Sentí que de alguna manera tenía que asumir el papel de jefe de la familia, porque el verdadero jefe de la familia ya no estaba con nosotros. Sabía que tenía que dar un paso al frente”.

Beckhams creó una página en GoFundMe que, hasta ahora, ha recaudado casi 20 mil dólares.

Dijo que toda esta experiencia le ha enseñado a no dar nada por sentado.

“Especialmente en momentos como estos, incluso algo tan simple como que alguien regrese a casa sano y salvo después del trabajo es una bendición”, dijo. “Es importante abrazar a tu familia cada vez que sale de la casa”.

Charline, la única hija de Alejandro y Verónica, cursa el segundo año en Lincoln High School. Dijo que sintió la ausencia de su papá sobre todo durante sus partidos de fútbol en la preparatoria.

“Cuando él se fue y tuve mis últimos partidos, fue muy difícil”, dijo. “Cuando no lo veía ahí en las gradas, realmente me afectaba”.

Después de que Charlene le contó a una maestra en Lincoln sobre el arresto, toda la comunidad escolar se movilizó. Incluso personas que no conocían a la familia llegaron a la casa de los Olivo con donaciones de comida y ropa.

Ver a la comunidad unirse para apoyar a su familia fue especialmente reconfortante para Ian, el segundo más pequeño de los hermanos.

“Se sintió muy bien saber que de verdad hay personas a las que les importamos”, dijo.

Ian contó que le costó procesar sus emociones y quiere que otros niños sepan que está bien reaccionar de manera diferente.

“Estaba triste. No lloré, pero aun así estaba triste”, dijo. “Sentía como si algo estuviera roto dentro de mí. Mi papá es la mejor persona que conozco”.

Ian ayudó al hermano menor de la familia durante ese periodo difícil. Ambos intentaban animarse jugando videojuegos.

Verónica dijo que todos los integrantes de la familia están hablando con terapeutas, algo que —aseguró— les ha ayudado a procesar el trauma.

También señaló que es importante mantener una actitud positiva y no dejar que los pensamientos negativos ganen. Por ejemplo, cuando la familia estaba reuniendo dinero para pagar abogados, algunas personas le dijeron que no valía la pena.

“Nos decían: ‘¿Para qué pagar todo ese dinero si de todos modos lo van a deportar?’”, recordó. “Pero nosotros no nos rendimos”.

El fútbol, una distracción bienvenida

Debido a su estatus de DACA, ICE liberó a Bryan al día siguiente de su arresto.

Según un informe del U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS por sus siglas en inglés), agentes federales arrestaron a 261 beneficiarios de DACA durante los primeros diez meses de la administración de Donald Trump y 86 de ellos fueron deportados.

Cuando Bryan salió en libertad, ayudar a su mamá y a sus hermanos se convirtió en un trabajo de tiempo completo, además de tomar turnos extra en su empleo para aportar más dinero a la casa.

Una de las pocas distracciones que le traían alivio era ver jugar a su equipo favorito, San Diego FC. Bryan forma parte de Riptides, uno de los grupos de aficionados del equipo.

Ellos llegan horas antes al estadio para hacer tailgate, llevan tambores y banderas al estadio y permanecen de pie todo el partido animando al equipo.

“Solo poder gritar y sacar todo ese estrés por unas horas… estoy feliz de estar aquí”, dijo durante una entrevista en el estacionamiento del Snapdragon Stadium a finales de febrero.

En el primer partido al que Bryan regresó, algunos aficionados le dieron la espalda al campo durante el himno nacional. Fue un pequeño acto de protesta contra las acciones de ICE en San Diego. Otros miembros llevaban camisetas contra ICE.

Bryan agradeció esa muestra de apoyo, pero él no le dio la espalda al himno. Dice que ama a Estados Unidos y, como beneficiario de DACA, siente la necesidad de demostrar su apoyo tanto como pueda.

Sin embargo, una línea del himno casi lo quebró ese día.

“Cuando cantaron ‘Land of the Free’, pensé: mi papá no es libre”, dijo. “Fue la única frase de todo el himno en la que tuve que bajar la cabeza porque sentía que iba a empezar a llorar”.

Los Riptides se movilizaron para apoyar a la familia Olivo. Compartieron la página de GoFundMe en línea y con frecuencia se mantenían en contacto con la familia para ver cómo estaban.

“Todos forman parte de nuestra comunidad y, en realidad, de nuestra familia”, dijo Matt Buse, uno de los cofundadores del grupo. “Y si algo le pasa a nuestra familia, vamos a actuar”.

Aunque es ciudadano estadounidense, Buse fue detenido por agentes de inmigración en la década de 2010 cuando vivía en Phoenix, bajo la ley de Arizona conocida como “muéstrame tus papeles”.

Buse dijo que otros aficionados de SDFC también tienen miedo de convertirse en blanco de acciones de ICE.

“Tenemos que asegurarnos de que nuestra comunidad esté a salvo”, dijo. “Estos son tiempos difíciles”.

Después de un mes, y con la ayuda de un abogado, la familia Olivo logró que Alejandro fuera liberado. Aún enfrenta un proceso de deportación, pero ahora puede pelear su caso desde casa junto a su familia.

Durante la audiencia para fijar su fianza, un juez mencionó varias razones por las que Alejandro no debía permanecer detenido: dirige un negocio, contribuye a la comunidad y está criando a varios hijos que son ciudadanos estadounidenses.

Alejandro estaba trabajando el día que KPBS visitó a su familia.

Verónica dijo que él todavía no habla mucho sobre el tiempo que pasó detenido. Cuando regresó a casa, notó que había perdido bastante peso. Y su rostro, que normalmente está bronceado por su trabajo en jardinería, se veía inusualmente pálido.

La familia Olivo quiere que otras personas que estén pasando por una situación similar con ICE sepan que no están solas. Que no deben tener miedo de pedir ayuda, porque hay muchas personas en San Diego dispuestas a apoyarlas.

“Nuestra familia es más fuerte que nunca”, dijo. “Podemos enfrentar cualquier cosa”.

At least it did to Veronica Olivo on the morning of Feb. 2, when ICE agents arrested her husband, Alejandro, and their oldest son, Bryan. Alejandro called Veronica right before the window shattered.

The worried mother of five heard a loud boom.

“Then he hung up,” Veronica said in Spanish.

A few minutes later, one of Alejandro’s co-workers called Veronica to say that ICE had taken her husband and son away. It was a little before 8 a.m., and she had just gotten home from dropping off the younger kids at school.

Alejandro and Bryan are among thousands of San Diegans who’ve been arrested during President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. The Olivo family decided to share their story in hopes that it would help other families going through the same disruption.

Alejandro is undocumented, and Bryan has legal status through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA. Neither of them have violent criminal records.

Veronica said the weeks following the arrest were filled with tears, confusion and anger. But the family of seven never gave up.

The first thing she did was call everyone she knew, from their kids’ schools, soccer teams, work and old family friends.

“Within an hour the house was full of people,” Veronica said. “And it stayed that way all day.”

People called immigration lawyers, dropped off food, and even helped raise some money to cover the family’s rent and utility bills while Alejandro, the primary earner, was held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center.

The following weekend, the family set up a pop-up Mexican restaurant to raise more money. Veronica and her friends cooked and one of her sons worked the cash register while the family’s only daughter ran the plates. The two youngest boys cleaned up the dirty dishes.

Different coping methods

At home, each family member dealt with it in their own way.

Beckhams, the second-oldest, was initially in a state of shock. He said he didn’t want to believe that his dad and brother were gone. But he knew that denial was not an option.

“I pulled myself together,” he said. “I saw myself as kind of like the head of the family, since our actual head of the family was not with us. I knew I had to step up.”

Beckhams set up a GoFundMe page that has, so far, raised nearly $20,000.

He said this whole experience has taught him not to take anything for granted.

“During these times especially, even something small like someone coming home safely from working is a blessing,” he said. “It’s important to hug your family every time they leave the house.”

Alejandro’s and Veronica’s only daughter Charline is a sophomore at Lincoln High School She said she felt her father’s absence most during her high school soccer games.

“When he left and I had my last few games, it was really hard,” she said. “When I didn’t see him there (on the stands) it really did affect me.”

After Charlene told a teacher at Lincoln about the arrest, the entire school community mobilized. Complete strangers showed up to the Olivo house with donated food and clothes.

Seeing the community rally around their family was particularly reassuring to Ian, the family’s second-youngest.

“It felt really good to know that some people actually did care about us,” he said.

Ian said he struggled to process his emotions, and he wants other young kids to know that it’s OK to be a little different.

“I was sad, I didn’t cry, but I was still sad,” he said. “I felt something broken inside. My dad is the greatest person I know.”

Ian helped the family’s youngest sibling through the difficult period. The two would try to cheer each other up by playing video games.

Veronica said every member of the family is talking with therapists, which she said has helped everyone process the trauma.

She also said it’s important to stay positive and avoid letting negative thoughts win. For example, when the family was raising money for lawyers, a few people told her not to bother.

“They said why pay all of that money, they’re just going to deport him anyway,” she said. “But we did not give up.”

Soccer a welcome distraction

Because of his DACA status, ICE released Bryan the day after his arrest.

According to a DHS report, federal agents arrested 261 DACA recipients during the first 10 months of the Trump administration and deported 86 of them.

When Bryan got out, helping his mother and siblings became a full-time job, on top of working extra shifts at work to help bring in more money.

One of the few welcome distractions was watching his favorite soccer team, San Diego FC (SDFC).

Bryan is affiliated with Riptides, one of the team's supporter groups. They show up hours early to tailgate, bring drums and flags into the stadium, and stand up to cheer on the team the entire game.

“Just being able to yell and get that relief out for a few hours, I’m just happy to be here,” he said during an interview at the Snapdragon parking lot in late February.

On Bryan’s first game back, a few supporters turned their backs to the field during the national anthem. It was a small act of protest against ICE enforcement in San Diego. Other members wore anti-ICE shirts.

Bryan appreciated the show of support. But he did not turn his back on the anthem. He loves the U.S., and as a DACA recipient, feels the need to show his support as much as possible.

But one line of the anthem nearly broke him that day.

“When they sang, ‘Land of the Free,’ I’m like, my dad’s not free,” he said. “That’s the only sentence out of the whole anthem that I had to put my head down and I wanted to start crying.”

Riptides rallied around the Olivo family. They shared the GoFundMe online and regularly checked in with the family.

“Everybody is part of our community and our family, really,” said Matt Buse, one of the group’s cofounders. “And if something happens with our family, we’re going to act.”

Although he’s a U.S. citizen, Buse was stopped by immigration enforcement in the 2010s when he lived in Phoenix, under Arizona’s “show-me-your-papers” law.

Buse said other SDFC supporters are afraid of being the targets of ICE enforcement.

“We need to make sure our community is safe,” he said. “These are scary times.”

After a month, and with the help of a lawyer, the Olivo family secured Alejandro’s release. He still faces deportation, but he can fight it from home with his family.

During his bond hearing, a judge cited multiple reasons why Alejandro shouldn’t be detained. He runs a business, contributes to the community and is raising multiple U.S.-citizen children.

Alejandro was working the day KPBS visited his family.

Veronica said he still doesn’t like to talk much about his time in detention. When he came home, she noticed that he’d lost a lot of weight. And his face, which is usually tan from his landscaping job, was unusually pale.

The Olivo family wants others going through ICE enforcement to know that they are not alone. That they shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help because there are a lot of people in San Diego willing to step up.

“Our family is stronger than ever,” she said. “We can take on anything.”

San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said the lawsuit was about following the law.

"We live in a nation that's governed by laws," she said. "Transparency and public health oversight are not optional."

Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, whose district includes the Otay Mesa Detention Center, said no one is above the law, including President Donald Trump.

“What we're seeing today reflects a broader pattern under the Trump administration, where federal agencies are increasingly blocking transparency and oversight even when public health is at stake,” she said.

California law allows counties to inspect private detention centers for public health purposes. San Diego is the first to try to exercise that right.

County officials say detainees have reported freezing temperatures, untreated medical conditions, and food unfit for human consumption at the facility, prompting requests for elected officials and public health personnel to inspect the center.

Federal and county officials were turned away from the Otay Mesa Detention Center last month when they tried to inspect the facility. Last Wednesday, the county gave DHS until the end of the business day to grant access.

County Counsel Damon Brown said DHS did not respond until the next day and asked duplicative questions that had already been answered before.

The suit names DHS, ICE, CoreCivic (the detention center's operator), acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who was fired by Trump the day after the county's deadline.

Lawson-Remer said the merit of the case remains, regardless of who's at the top.

“The complaint that we filed asserts three causes of action, each grounded in federal and state law,” Brown said. "The defendant's decision is arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion because they have provided no reasonable explanation and ignored essential statutory requirements and cooperative federalism principles."

The county said its authority ends at inspection. If the inspection finds any violations, they will be published but it will then be up to Congress to act.

For Lawson-Remer, the issue hits closer to home as a Jewish person.

“We have family stories about people who barely escaped a Holocaust in a country that was apparently ruled by law at the time," she said. "And then individuals were just arbitrarily detained and nobody inspected and nobody cared and nobody watched, and everyone shut their eyes. And then that's what happens.”

The county also plans to file a motion for a preliminary injunction Friday, seeking immediate access to the detention center.

The detention center faces allegations of untreated medical conditions, spoiled food and unsafe conditions. In a statement, a DHS spokesperson said that all detainees are provided with proper meals, water and medical treatment.

“ICE is regularly audited and inspected by external agencies to ensure that all ICE facilities comply with performance-based national detention standards," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens."

Welcome to CalMatters, the only nonprofit newsroom devoted solely to covering issues that affect all Californians. Sign up for WhatMatters to receive the latest news and commentary on the most important issues in the Golden State.Only two Democratic lawmakers voted against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal last year curtailing health care for undocumented immigrants. Sen. Maria Elena Durazo was one them.

Now, Durazo, a Democrat from Los Angeles, is proposing legislation that would reverse many of those immigrant health care cuts and reinstate Medi-Cal eligibility for all income-qualifying residents regardless of citizenship.

Senate Bill 1422 would ensure that all immigrant adults age 19 and older could enroll in Medi-Cal. It would not reverse limits placed on dental benefits that last year’s state budget included, nor would it eliminate the $30 monthly premium required of the same population starting in July 2027. The state budget last year did not cut benefits for children without legal status.

“We are no healthier as a community than the person least able to access care. When we accept a two-tier health care system, we borrow trouble,” Durazo said Monday.

Durazo argues that immigrants without legal status contribute billions in taxes each year and many of them now cannot benefit from programs those dollars support. The state spends about $12 billion annually on immigrant health care.

A shrinking budget, a growing fight

Whether Newsom will sign such a measure is unclear but seemingly unlikely. Grappling with a deficit for the fourth straight year — even as revenue grows — Newsom has already proposed cuts to other programs. Marissa Saldivar, a spokesperson for the governor, said his office would not comment on Durazo’s legislation.

His January budget proposal made few changes to the state’s Medi-Cal program, which enrolls more than 14 million Californians, but it underscored the ongoing fiscal challenges. One major threat comes from President Donald Trump’s federal tax reform package, which imposed new limits on the provider taxes that nearly every state uses to support their low-income health care programs. California’s tax on health insurers is particularly large, generating about $7 billion annually for the general fund — a figure that the state finance department estimates will decrease to about $6 million next year.

Medi-Cal spending has nearly doubled to $200 billion during Newsom’s two terms, adding to the state’s structural deficit, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. That amount includes about $119 billion in federal dollars.

Both Democrats and Republicans criticize Newsom’s handling of health care for immigrants without legal status. Republicans blame Newsom’s gradual expansion of Medi-Cal eligibility to immigrants for the program’s growing costs. Democrats are angry he partially reversed course, and some also take issue with his most recent budget proposal, which they say would needlessly extend some federal Medicaid cuts.

Assemblymember Mia Bonta, a Democrat from Oakland, has introduced a bill that would bar the state from imposing federal work requirements on enrollees whose health care is paid for solely with state funds, a group that includes immigrants without legal status. State officials estimate work requirements will cause roughly 2 million Californians to lose Medi-Cal largely due to administrative hurdles.

The fight over health care spending has become one of the defining issues heading into this fall’s elections.

The state’s largest health care labor union is pushing a billionaire’s tax to raise revenue for health care, a measure that has drawn opposition from Silicon Valley’s wealthy elite and divided state Democrats. Meanwhile, party leaders are also trying to unseat a number of vulnerable congressional Republicans, including Rep. David Valadao whose Central Valley district has the highest share of Medicaid recipients in the country.

Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.

Last year, 32 people died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody — the most since 2004. In the first seven weeks of this year, eight more people died.

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, confronted Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem with these numbers at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday morning.

Noem said federal detention center standards are even higher than state or local standards.

“We provide medical care to all of our detainees, three nutritious meals a day, we take care of them,” she said.

“I have to tell you, I believe my own eyes,” Padilla said.

He said despite court orders, DHS continues to refuse members of Congress unannounced oversight visits.

ICE officers turned him away from Otay Mesa Detention Center last month.

Noem did not respond to access concerns.

Padilla called for her resignation, firing, or impeachment.

Six dozen migrants from Mexico, Central, South America and Africa were intercepted trying to illegally enter the United States off the Southern California coast last weekend, officials said today.

On Saturday, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations unit from San Diego interdicted three vessels carrying 36 people near San Clemente Island, according to the agency.

The first interdiction occurred southeast of San Clemente Island when an AMO crew identified a "vessel of interest." The boat reportedly carried 10 Mexican nationals, who were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Haddock and later turned over to the Border Patrol for processing.

The same crew interdicted a second vessel in the area. The 21-foot vessel carried nine Mexican nationals and stopped without incident, the CBP reported. The migrants were transferred to the Cutter Haddock and turned over to Border Patrol agents.

A third vessel south of San Clemente Island was interdicted shortly afterward. The vessel allegedly carried 17 Mexican nationals, who were turned over to customs agents for processing.

Criminal histories for some of those apprehended include suspicion of re-entry after deportation, driving under the influence, firearm possession, domestic violence, grand theft and resisting arrest, authorities said.

An AMO aircrew provided watch for the three interdictions.

"Whether on land, in the air or on the sea, CBP is coming after those who choose to break our laws and try to enter our country illegally, especially dangerous criminals who threaten our communities," CBP AMO Executive Director Hunter Robinson said in a statement. "These interdictions exemplify how CBP works alongside our law enforcement and national defense partners in a whole-of-government approach to protecting America's borders."

Other interdictions included:

— On Saturday, the Coast Guard Cutter Forrest Rednour and the USS Augusta coordinated to stop another vessel, apprehending 16 people who were turned over to Border Patrol agents.

— On Sunday, the Rednour intercepted a vessel about 8.5 miles west of Sunset Cliffs. Its crew turned over all 20 people to Border Patrol agents.

"Ensuring our country is safe doesn't stop with apprehending those who attempt to enter illegally," CBP San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Justin De La Torre said. "Working alongside our CBP and DHS partners and the U.S. Attorney's Office, we will identify, investigate, and hold accountable every individual involved in these criminal smuggling operations including those piloting the vessels, the coordinators, facilitators, and the foreign terrorist organizations directing them. Together, we are committed to dismantling these networks and pursuing all available consequences to the fullest extent of the law."

Authorities said they will process all suspected migrants for removal or federal prosecution.

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

More than 20,000 immigrant truck drivers will be able to keep their licenses in California, at least temporarily, despite efforts by the Trump administration and the state of California to revoke them, according to a tentative ruling Wednesday in Alameda County Superior Court.

The decision puts the state of California in a bind. The U.S. Department of Transportation already has repeatedly pushed the California Department of Motor Vehicles to rescind these licenses, which belong to many asylum seekers and other immigrants with temporary legal status, after the federal government found alleged clerical issues regarding the expiration dates on their licenses. The California DMV complied with the transportation department’s demands and sent letters to more than 20,000 drivers last fall, telling them that their California licenses would expire in the next 60 days.

But after a law firm and two legal advocacy groups, the Asian Law Caucus and the Sikh Coalition, sued on behalf of truckers, saying that the state didn’t follow the proper process for rescinding their licenses, the state extended the expiration dates to March 6. The transportation department said in January that it will withhold $160 million in federal highway funds from California as punishment for extending the expiration dates.

While immigrant drivers in the courtroom celebrated today’s tentative decision, attorneys for the state of California said the judge’s ruling could hurt many more people. The Trump administration has threatened to rescind California’s ability to grant commercial licenses altogether if the state doesn’t comply with its orders regarding immigrant truckers.

Forcing the DMV to keep these 20,000 licenses intact “will risk the ultimate harm that California is trying to avoid,” said Barbara Horne-Petersdorf, an attorney with the California Department of Justice. “DMV is not insulated from any retaliatory action.” All told, about 700,000 drivers in California have commercial driving licenses, which are required to operate everything from big rigs to school buses.

Later this week, the judge will issue a final decision and the attorneys representing California will explain the process they will use to give the 20,000 truckers a chance to keep their licenses while also appeasing the federal government’s demands.

Even though the roughly 20,000 immigrant drivers will be able to keep their licenses in the short term, they have more limited long-term prospects. The transportation department created a rule in February preventing states from issuing or renewing licenses to certain immigrants, including many if not all of the 20,000 drivers affected by the judge’s tentative decision. Two major unions, the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of Teachers, and a consumer law group, Public Citizen, are suing the federal government to stop that rule from taking effect next month.

The state of California is also suing the transportation department over its threats to withhold the $160 million in funding and to stop the state from issuing trucking licenses in the future.

Losing a trucking license — and $70,000 

In September, Alejandro, a Bay Area truck driver and an asylum seeker from South America, received a notice from the California DMV telling him that his license was going to be revoked. CalMatters agreed to withhold his name because he said he’s worried about being harassed.

Over the past three years, he said he’s invested more than $70,000 in his trucking business, including purchasing his own truck and insurance for it. “If I can’t maintain my license to drive, I can’t continue operating my business,” he told CalMatters. The judge’s tentative decision today would allow him to hold on to his license through December, when his license was originally set to expire. He said he has a permit to work in the United States through 2030.

Many of the immigrant drivers are members of the Sikh community, a religious minority from India. The drivers sued the California DMV, saying that the state didn’t give them a fair chance to remedy the clerical problems on their licenses. The plaintiffs, who are unnamed in the lawsuit, include two school bus drivers and three commercial drivers. Many of their licenses were set to expire in 2027 or later.

The driver shortages are already affecting supply chains, said Gunveer Singh, a California-based broker who helps coordinate shipping across the state. He said the cost of a single freight trip from New Jersey to Texas has gone up by more than 35% because of a national shortage of immigrant drivers. “We just can’t find drivers,” he said. “It’s a whole thing.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

Under gray skies, the dome of the State Capitol blazed blue and yellow in remembrance.

It has now been four years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Dozens of attendees, including members of the Ukrainian community, gathered on the steps as it began to rain. Some carried or wrapped themselves in the Ukrainian flag. Others wore photographs of civilians and servicemembers killed by Russian forces.

All called for an end to the fighting, for Ukraine to remain free, and for a lasting peace that some will never see.

The solemn, and at times emotional, event was organized by two volunteer organizations, Ukrainian American House and the Sunflower Society. The latter holds a vigil on the 24th day of every month at the Capitol. The groups also gathered donations to purchase tourniquets and other medical supplies.

Songs rang out across the Capitol grounds, including the Ukrainian National Anthem and spiritual anthem. A moment of silence was held, along with an interfaith prayer. The California National Guard presented the colors of the United States and Ukraine.

Dmytro Kushneruk, Consul General of Ukraine in San Francisco was among the night’s many speakers. He said the vigil was a demonstration of Ukrainians’ “unbreakable resolve,” and thanked the community for their donations and continued advocacy. “You have kept Ukraine visible, and you kept Ukraine strong,” Kushneruk said, adding that for Ukrainians “there is no pause button, no distance from consequences, no luxury of forgetting.”

“Today we remember the fallen, we honor our defenders, we stand with those who suffer,” he continued. “But we also want to speak about the future. A future where Ukraine is free, where justice is restored, where peace is dignified and secure.”

Almost every speech was punctuated with Ukraine’s national salute, “Slava Ukraini!” (Glory to Ukraine!) Attendees roared in response, “Heroiam slava!” (Glory to the heroes!)

For the visitors it was a time to remember, mourn, and take action. Here are some of their stories.

Oleh Kernytskyy

Oleh Kernytskyy lives in the East Bay. He came to the U.S. in 1999 from the Western Ukrainian city of Ternopil. He said he was at home when the war broke out, and learned about it online and through social media.

“Nobody expected this, this was (a) shock for everybody… this was a big surprise for the whole world, not just for Ukraine,” he explained.

Kernytskyy said he has done a lot of intensive volunteer work over the last year to support his countrymen. “I took care (of) a Ukrainian boy, 16 years old, because (a) Russian tank attack him, crush his leg,” he said.

“I work as an interpreter in a school. I met a girl, seven years old, and she spent four months in the basement without electricity, without water. Parents melted snow to make water… it’s horrible stories, but we need to help those people.”

He said the United States has a lot of resources to help Ukraine, and that it is in the country’s best interests to fight for freedom in a “war between light and dark forces.”

“I think everybody needs to understand, result of this war will impact everybody,” Kernytskyy said. “It seems far away from America, but depending from the war, people will live happy… and if war ended another way, then (it) will be very bad for everybody.”

Wrapped in the Ukrainian flag, he said it was important for others to see the colors. “They will understand about Ukraine, how brave those people (are),” Kernytskyy said.

Arina Bugera

Arina Bugera vividly remembers the first days of the war. Born and raised in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, the 15-year-old described the call her mother received at 4 a.m., and the mad scramble for passports and other necessities as the bombing started.

“We run outside, it’s still dark. Then we see an entire fleet of Russian warplanes… they were flying very low,” Bugera explained. “It was the moment I realized the explosions that were at the beginning… there are enemies all over us.”

Bugera’s family escaped to Poland, then traveled to Qatar before arriving in Sacramento on March 1, 2022. She eventually became a volunteer with the Sunflower Society.

“I always felt patriotic toward my country, toward my heritage. I came to the rallies here in the capital. I found community. I found people who like me escaped the war, who came here earlier,” she said.

As she collected donations, Bugera said she is doing her part for the war effort. “This means one less drop of blood spilled, one less body of a Ukrainian soldier or civilian going into the tomb for a war that we did not start,” she said.

Bugera said support for Ukraine has declined over the years, especially as media attention turned elsewhere. But she believes the U.S. government can push Russia to end the war, and said being surrounded by supporters gives her the strength to fight on.

And she wants to go back home one day. “I cannot imagine my life without my country,” Bugera said. “My priority is to help Ukraine rebuild itself, and I want to be there when this happens.”

Oleg Korovyanko

Oleg Korovyanko works for the California Department of Health Care Services. Originally born in Ukraine, he became a U.S. citizen in 2009. In his hands he held a sign with a picture of two Ukrainian servicemen, their faces obscured with emojis.

The text above the image reads “prove that American Ukrainians stand together with our country. Your help is not just donations. It is equipment delivered on time. It is to save lives.”

For Korovyanko, the war began with phone calls. “I called my mom, and also I got (a) call from my Russian friend; he was apologizing that this was happening,” he explained.

Korovyanko said his mother has since passed away, but before she did, “she wanted me to give all money to (the) Ukrainian military to keep fighting.”

When it comes to ongoing support, Korovyanko is proud that California continues to stand by Ukraine. He expressed gratitude for Governor Gavin Newsom and congressional members on both sides of the aisle, but added more needs to be done.

“The thing that we try to say is that Russia actually uses our equipment. Russia uses our skills, Russia uses our economic might to kill people in Ukraine.”

Korovyanko said Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians share common goals, and called on people to “stand for reality.”

“Watch the difference between us and the other world, with Russia… we are looking ahead for a future. Other people together with Putin, they look backwards,” he said.

“I hope that Ukraine stands. Ukraine is alive, Ukraine is praying, and Ukraine is fighting.”

Tetiana Markova

Tetiana Markova traveled from San Jose to Sacramento for the vigil, and stood at a booth filled with flower crowns, keychains, knitted animals and other gifts. Behind her hung the flags of the Ukrainian 38th Marine Brigade and 72nd Mechanized Brigade, bearing the signatures of multiple soldiers.

Her husband, Mykola Markov, stood nearby wearing a cap emblazoned with an angry green tractor — the badge of the “Ukrainian Tractor Brigade,” referring to viral videos from early in the war of Ukrainian farmers salvaging abandoned Russian military equipment.

Markova began making and selling trinkets four years ago with friends as a way to support her country and its defenders.

We didn’t know what to do, how we can help, so we started to make some stuff,” Markova said, adding that the work kept her mind occupied.

The money she raises will be used to buy cars for military transport. “We can feel that it’s our part in our victory,” she continued, pointing to the signatures on the flags. “When we get the ‘thank you’ from our warriors, (it) is really appreciated by us.”

Markova thanked Americans for their help but acknowledged the country is facing a lot of problems, economically and politically. Regardless, Markova asked people to not lose sight of the ongoing conflict.

“What happened now in the U.S. and also in Ukraine, and in Europe, everything is related. Please (don’t) forget.”

Vladimir Fedorov

Vladimir Fedorov arrived at the Capitol draped in the blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag, but he’s not Ukrainian.

He’s Russian.

“I see the war start in (2022), I live(d) in Russia … that was my last year in college. I was 18 years old,” Fedorov explained. “All people in my circle support war, support Russia. It’s not normal, it’s very crazy.”

“These people support not just Putin, (they) support the president who start the war, is very aggressive, very fascist, very Nazi.”

Fedorov said he was charged with extremism in Russia because of his support for Ukraine, and left the country two years ago to come to Sacramento. “It’s okay in the United States, it’s normal, I support Ukraine. But in Russia it’s criminal,“ he said.

Fedorov didn’t mince words when it came to supporters of the war. “I don’t want to talk with them,” he said bluntly.

Amid a sea of flags, signs and photographs, Fedorov said it was important to stand in solidarity with Ukrainians and their supporters, including other Russians. “We can feel this fire in the heart. You just want to cry, and the same moment you just smile a little bit because you’re together with the same people,” Fedorov said.

“Maybe it’s not from your country, from Ukraine, but you are together.”

The memo, issued by the Department of Homeland Security last week, says refugees who haven’t applied for a green card within one year of arriving in the U.S. can be detained.

This is the first time in memory that the federal government has threatened detention based on the timing of a green card application. In fact, the DHS memo says in previous policy it, “was not considered a proper basis for detention.”

“This is really causing terror in the community,” said Maria Chavez, immigration legal director at the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, or PANA.

San Diego has a history of welcoming refugee populations – dating back to the Vietnam War era when over 50,000 Vietnamese nationals lived in a temporary refugee camp in Camp Pendleton.

Since then, San Diego has become the headquarters of multiple resettlement agencies, including Jewish Family Service and the International Rescue Committee. Between 1983 and 2004, San Diego received more refugees than Miami, Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas and Phoenix, according to a report by Brookings Institution.

When refugees resettle in the United States, they can adjust their status to become legal permanent residents by obtaining a green card.

The Trump administration’s official rationale for detaining refugees is so the federal government can again vet them to ensure they are not a threat to public safety, according to the DHS memo.

But part of what makes the new policy so controversial is refugees already go through multiple rounds of extensive vetting, Chavez said. Unlike asylum seekers, who apply for protection after they enter the country, refugees are vetted before they set foot in the United States.

“There’s a very rigorous vetting process that goes through the United Nations,” Chavez said. “From there, refugees are resettled in different countries, the United States being one of them.”

Following the UN vetting process, our federal government does its own vetting before a refugee can board a plane bound for the United States. Refugees are also re-vetted when they apply for work permits, she added.

Those who help refugees adjust to life in the United States said there are a number of reasons why they would put off applying for a green card.

“Just because they arrived to the United States, doesn’t mean they’re handed everything on a silver platter,” Chavez said. “They still have to figure out housing, they still have to figure out food and work. And yes, they do have some help, but that doesn’t mean anything is easier for them.”

Given the new policy memo, Chaves says every refugee should begin the application process as soon as possible.

President Trump has targeted refugees in multiple ways during his second term. During his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order that temporarily halted the entire refugee program.

The administration has also made helping refugees resettle in the United States much more difficult by defunding nonprofits that provided direct aid to refugee populations.

It’s unclear how many people in San Diego County could be detained under the new DHS policy. Data from San Diego County shows more than 5,000 refugees arrived in San Diego last year — mostly from Afghanistan, Haiti and Syria.

However, the county’s data is likely an undercount because their data only includes refugees brought to San Diego under federal resettlement programs.

The data does not include people who were resettled in one county but later moved to San Diego or people who were resettled in San Diego but have since moved away. The data also does not track whether people have already applied for a green card, a San Diego County spokesperson said.

El Ayuntamiento de Escondido se negó a cancelar un contrato para compartir su campo de tiro policial con ICE, después de una reunión de cinco horas en la que los manifestantes calificaron a la agencia de inmigración de peligro para los residentes.

“Dondequiera que esté ICE, nadie está seguro: ni ciudadanos ni inmigrantes”, dijo Robin Ferguson, residente de Escondido, al ayuntamiento.

El Departamento de Policía de Escondido ha arrendado su campo de tiro al Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas desde 2013 y firmó un contrato formal con la agencia en 2024, dijo el jefe de policía Ken Plunkett.

El miércoles, un debate sobre el tema en el ayuntamiento congregó a unos 200 manifestantes que portaban carteles con frases como “¡Fuera ICE!” y “Causa buenos problemas (Make Good Trouble)”, además de diversas obscenidades. Cientos de coches tocaron la bocina en señal de aprobación en la concurrida intersección.

Durante la reunión, que se extendió desde las 5 p. m. hasta las 10 p. m., decenas de miembros del público denunciaron el acuerdo, calificando la actividad de ICE en las comunidades de San Diego como “terrorismo patrocinado por el estado” y denunciando el contrato de la ciudad como “dinero de sangre”.

La concejal Consuelo Martínez propuso rescindir el contrato inmediatamente y dijo que considera a ICE “una agencia deshonesta”.

Otros concejales no secundaron su moción, dejando el contrato en vigor. Argumentaron que el entrenamiento con armas de fuego permitiría a ICE operar con mayor seguridad, o que cancelar el contrato provocaría la ira de la administración Trump y desencadenaría redadas migratorias intensificadas en Escondido.

“En cuanto a la escalada, ya está ocurriendo”, dijo Martínez, citando los recientes arrestos por inmigración en la ciudad de mayoría latina. “En cuanto a la llegada de Minneapolis a Escondido, ya está aquí. Rescindir este contrato no nos pone en la mira. Ya está aquí”.

El contrato de ICE de Escondido

La policía de Escondido opera el campo de tiro en Valley Center Road para su propio entrenamiento y lo alquila a otras agencias, según informó el capitán de policía Erik Witholt. El contrato de $67,500 cubre tres años con un costo anual de $22,500 y permite hasta 200 agentes por un máximo de 20 días al año.

Ese contrato ha provocado indignación entre activistas y líderes electos locales, mientras las comunidades de San Diego se enfrentan a agresivas redadas migratorias. CalMatters informó que los arrestos por inmigración en San Diego aumentaron en un 1500 % entre mayo y octubre, en comparación con el mismo período del año anterior.

Witholt dijo que la ciudad no brinda ningún otro apoyo o recursos más allá del uso del campo de tiro.

“Suben allí, entrenan solos”, dijo. “No los entrenamos, no entrenamos con ellos, y luego se van al terminar el día”.

Esto no tranquilizó a los manifestantes en la reunión del consejo, quienes dijeron que temen que el uso compartido de las instalaciones eventualmente conduzca a operaciones conjuntas.

“Una vez que abrimos esa puerta, se vuelve más difícil cerrarla”, dijo Angela Spucess, residente de Escondido. “Esta noche no se trata de balas ni blancos. Se trata de límites”.

La concejal Judy Fitzgerald, ex oficial de policía de los departamentos de policía de Oceanside y Carlsbad, dijo que entendía el horror por los recientes asesinatos de ICE, pero dijo que la capacitación es necesaria para prevenir eso.

“Creo que los tiroteos que hemos visto en los que está involucrado ICE son trágicos y también muestran la necesidad de tener funcionarios bien capacitados en todos los niveles de aplicación de la ley”, dijo.

Mary Davis, miembro del Grupo de Planificación Comunitaria Alpina del Condado de San Diego y una de los dos únicos oradores que apoyaron el contrato, dijo que el entrenamiento con armas de fuego es necesario para desarrollar la memoria muscular y las habilidades de tiro.

“Les insto a que cumplan con este contrato”, dijo. “Hay gente que viene a mí y quiere comprar un arma, y mi primera pregunta siempre es: ¿con qué frecuencia van a entrenar con esa arma?”

Cómo disparar es fácil. Cuándo disparar es difícil

Pero Ronald Willis, un instructor de armas de fuego de la Infantería de Marina, dijo que los agentes de ICE necesitan educación en derecho constitucional, reducción de tensiones y toma de decisiones, no solo prácticas de tiro.

“Disparar es fácil de entrenar”, dijo. “Disparar es difícil, sobre todo para hacerlo bien”.

Numerosos oradores argumentaron que el contrato, de 22,500 dólares al año, ofrecía beneficios limitados a un coste elevado para la ciudad.

“Es un impacto financiero mínimo, pero el impacto en la confianza de la comunidad es significativo”, dijo Juan Vargas, residente de Escondido. “Cuando la gente tiene miedo de interactuar con las fuerzas del orden, la seguridad pública se debilita para todos”.

Los activistas locales han protestado contra el acuerdo desde que el sitio de noticias LA Taco lo informó el mes pasado , y más de 2,500 personas firmaron una petición pidiendo a los líderes de la ciudad que lo revirtieran.

La disputa también ha generado una oposición inusual por parte de otros líderes electos. El lunes, 33 funcionarios locales enviaron una carta solicitando a Escondido la cancelación del contrato. Los funcionarios, entre ellos el asambleísta demócrata David Álvarez, supervisores del condado de San Diego, concejales de la ciudad vecina y miembros de la junta escolar, escribieron que la colaboración con ICE tiene “consecuencias perjudiciales que trascienden los límites de la ciudad” y “no se alinea con los valores fundamentales de Escondido”.

Los líderes políticos locales y los candidatos también condenaron el contrato de ICE en la reunión del miércoles, argumentando que el acuerdo de compartir el rango compromete la seguridad de los residentes.

“Sabemos que a nuestras comunidades inmigrantes les importa la seguridad pública, pero lo que hace ICE no es seguridad pública”, dijo Ammar Campa-Najjar, candidato al distrito 48 del Congreso en San Diego. “Están socavando la seguridad pública. Están aterrorizando a las comunidades”.

La concejal de Vista, Corinna Contreras, dijo que el Ayuntamiento de Escondido debería haber votado sobre el contrato, en lugar de confiarlo a la aprobación de la policía.

“No está bien que esto se haya mantenido en secreto y a puertas cerradas”, dijo a los miembros del consejo.

Los funcionarios de la ciudad dijeron que el acuerdo estaba por debajo del umbral de $200,000 para la aprobación del consejo, y el alcalde Dane White argumentó que sería imposible para los miembros del consejo rastrear lo que él estimó que eran miles de pequeños contratos que la ciudad mantiene cada año.

El campo de tiro de Escondido es uno de los pocos en el condado de San Diego, y la ciudad lo alquila unos 200 días al año a varias agencias locales, estatales y federales, dijo Witholt.

El contrato permite a los agentes del ICE usar el campo de tiro durante media jornada o jornada completa, y proporciona instalaciones básicas que incluyen un campo de tiro para rifles, un campo de tiro para pistolas, un almacén de equipo y un aula. Los agentes de policía informaron que el campo de tiro no cuenta con agua corriente ni electricidad, y no proporciona personal ni suministros.

“Traen sus propias armas de fuego, blancos y personal”, dijo Witholt. “Nosotros ponemos el terreno y ellos se encargan de todo lo demás”.

CalMatters solicitó registros del uso de la instalación por parte de ICE, pero la ciudad no los ha proporcionado.

A los funcionarios de la ciudad les preocupa que “sucedan cosas malas”

Plunkett afirmó que la ciudad podría enfrentar consecuencias por rescindir el contrato, incluyendo acciones legales por parte del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional y el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE), multas por cancelación o la pérdida de hasta un millón de dólares en subvenciones federales. Los funcionarios municipales indicaron que el contrato contiene una cláusula que les permite rescindirlo sin penalización, pero algunos manifestaron temor a represalias por parte de las autoridades federales.

El concejal Joe García afirmó que había sido detenido y esposado previamente por agentes de ICE y que comprendía la oposición a apoyar a la agencia. Sin embargo, advirtió que los agentes de ICE tomarían represalias si la ciudad rechazaba el contrato del campo de tiro.

“Ustedes han estado testificando y expresándose con mucha claridad: esta es una organización vengativa”, dijo. “Creo firmemente que si se cancela el contrato, creo firmemente que todas estas cosas malas sucederán”.

Escondido tiene un historial de colaboración con ICE; a principios de la década de 2000, la ciudad mantuvo una controvertida colaboración con la agencia para realizar controles conjuntos de DUI que también servían como controles migratorios. Los críticos denunciaron el programa, argumentando que desalentaba la cooperación entre la policía local y las comunidades inmigrantes en la ciudad de mayoría latina. Los oradores del miércoles se quejaron de que el contrato con ICE perpetúa estos conflictos.

“La realidad es que esto ha dividido a nuestra comunidad”, dijo García. “Esto ha lastimado a tanta gente. Independientemente de la decisión que se tome, habrá mucha gente molesta”.

The Escondido City Council declined to cancel a contract to share its police firing range with ICE, after a five-hour meeting where protestors called the immigration agency a danger to residents.

“Wherever ICE is, no one is safe: citizen or immigrant alike,” Escondido resident Robin Ferguson told the city council.

The Escondido Police Department has leased its firing range to Immigration and Customs Enforcement since 2013 and signed a formal contract with the agency in 2024, Police Chief Ken Plunkett said.

A city council discussion of the item Wednesday drew about 200 protestors who held signs in front of city hall declaring “ICE out,” and “Make good trouble,” along with various obscenities. Hundreds of cars honked in approval at the busy intersection.

During the meeting, which stretched from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., scores of public speakers denounced the agreement, framing ICE activity in San Diego communities as “state-sponsored terror” and denouncing the city contract as “blood money.”

Councilmember Consuelo Martinez proposed terminating the contract immediately and said she considers ICE “a rogue agency.”

Other council members did not second her motion, leaving the contract in place. They argued that firearms training would enable ICE to operate more safely, or that cancelling the contract would draw the wrath of the Trump administration and trigger intensified immigration raids in Escondido.

“As far as the escalation it’s already happening,” Martinez said, citing recent immigration arrests in the majority Latino city. “As far as Minneapolis coming to Escondido, it’s already here. Terminating this contract does not put a target on our back. It’s already here.”

Escondido’s ICE contract

Escondido police operate the firing range on Valley Center Road for their own training, and lease it to other agencies, Police Captain Erik Witholt said. The $67,500 contract covers three years at $22,500 annually, and allows up to 200 agents for up to 20 days over the course of the year.

That contract has sparked outrage among activists and local elected leaders, as San Diego communities face aggressive immigration raids. CalMatters reported that immigration arrests in San Diego quietly surged by 1500% between May and October, compared to the same time period the previous year.

Witholt said the city provides no other support or resources beyond use of the range.

“They go up there, they do their training on their own,” he said. “We don’t train them, we don’t train with them, and then they leave for the day when they’re done.”

That didn’t reassure demonstrators at the council meeting, who said they fear that shared facility use will eventually lead to joint operations.

“Once we open that door it becomes harder to close,” Escondido resident Angela Spucess said. “Tonight isn’t about bullets and targets. It’s about boundaries.”

Councilmember Judy Fitzgerald, a former police officer with Oceanside and Carlsbad Police Departments, said she understood the horror over recent ICE killings, but said training is necessary to prevent that.

“I believe that the ICE involved shootings that we’ve seen are tragic, and they also show the need to have well-trained officials at all levels of law enforcement,” she said.

Mary Davis, a member of San Diego County’s Alpine Community Planning Group and one of only two speakers who supported the contract, said firearms training is necessary to develop muscle memory and shooting skills.

“I am urging you to keep this contract,” she said. “I have people who come to me and they want to buy a gun, and my first question to them is always, how often are you going to train with that gun?”

“How to shoot is easy. When to shoot is hard”

But Ronald Willis, a Marine firearms instructor, said ICE agents need education on constitutional law, de-escalation and decision-making, not just target practice.

“How to shoot is easy to train,” he said. “When to shoot is difficult, especially to do well.”

Numerous speakers argued that the contract, at $22,500 per year, offered limited benefit at a steep cost to the city.

“That’s a minimal financial impact, but the impact on the community trust is significant,” Escondido resident Juan Vargas said. “When people are afraid to engage with law enforcement, public safety weakens for everyone.”

Local activists have protested the agreement since the news site LA Taco reported it last month, and more than 2,500 people signed a petition calling on city leaders to reverse it.

The dispute has also drawn unusual opposition from other elected leaders. On Monday, 33 local officials sent a letter asking Escondido to cancel the contract. The officials, including Democratic Assemblymember David Alvarez, San Diego County supervisors, neighboring city council members and school board members, wrote that the partnership with ICE has “harmful consequences that go beyond city limits” and “does not align with Escondido’s core values.”

Local political leaders and candidates also condemned the ICE contract at the meeting Wednesday, arguing that the range-sharing agreement compromises residents’ safety.

“We know that our immigrant communities care about public safety, but what ICE is doing is not public safety,” said Ammar Campa-Najjar, a candidate for the 48th Congressional district in San Diego. “They are undermining public safety. They are terrorizing communities.”

Vista Councilmember Corinna Contreras said the Escondido City Council should have voted on the contract, instead of entrusting it to police approval.

“This is not okay that this has been under wraps and behind closed doors,” she told council members.

City officials said the agreement fell below a $200,000 threshold for council approval, and Mayor Dane White argued that it would be impossible for council members to track what he estimated were thousands of small contracts the city maintains every year.

Escondido’s firing range is one of a handful in San Diego County, and the city leases it about 200 days per year to various local, state and federal agencies, Witholt said.

The contract allows ICE agents to use the range for half or full days, and provides basic facilities including a rifle range, handgun range, equipment storage and classroom. Police officials said the range has no running water or electricity, and does not provide staff or supplies.

“They bring their own firearms, targets and staff,” Witholt said. “We provide the grounds and they provide everything else.”

CalMatters requested records for ICE usage of the facility, but the city has not provided them.

City officials worry “bad things will happen”

Plunkett said the city could face consequences for terminating the contract, including legal action by the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, cancellation fines or loss of up to $1 million in federal grants to the city. City officials said the contract contains a clause that allows them to cancel without penalty, but some said they feared reprisal by federal authorities.

Councilmember Joe Garcia said he had been previously stopped and handcuffed by ICE officers, and understood opposition to supporting the agency. But he warned that ICE officials would retaliate if the city rejected the firing range contract.

“You have been testifying and expressed so clearly, this is an organization that is vengeful,” he said. “I do believe that if the contract is cancelled, I do believe that all these bad things are going to happen.”

Escondido has a history of working with ICE; in the early 2000s, the city maintained a controversial partnership with the agency to conduct joint DUI checkpoints that also served as immigration checks. Critics denounced the program, saying that it discouraged cooperation between local police and immigrant communities in the majority Latino city. Speakers Wednesday complained that the ICE contract perpetuates those conflicts.

“The reality that this has divided our community,” Garcia said. “This has hurt so many people. No matter what decision is made, there’s going to be so many people upset.”

Initially, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents agreed to allow supervisors Paloma Aguirre and Terra Lawson-Remer to inspect the federal immigration detention center.

It would have been the first such inspection allowed in California. However, when county officials arrived for the scheduled inspection Friday, the agency changed their minds, according to the supervisors, who are both Democrats.

“We gave them sufficient notice, we had personal emails clearing us to conduct the public health inspection,” Aguirre said. “Suddenly we were told we just got a call from the higher ups.”

The official explanation, according to the supervisors, was that local ICE officials initially approved the inspection but their national counterparts blocked it.

At one point, ICE agents at the detention center threatened to have the county supervisors arrested, Aguirre added.

Lawson-Remer said she plans to sue the Trump administration.

“We will be initiating litigation, ICE is in clear violation of the Health and Safety Code and they are refusing lawful oversight,” she said.

Earlier in the day, Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan, the county’s Public Health Officer, was allowed into the facility, the county supervisors said. But ICE only granted him limited access — seeing just the facility’s kitchen and medical bays.

ICE staff prevented Thihalolipavan from reviewing medical records, copies of internal policies and procedures, or speaking with detainees in the general population area, the supervisors said.

Because access was so severely restricted, Thihalolipavan did not have enough information to conduct the health inspection, Lawson-Remer added.

“I am very deeply concerned,” she said. “This is a huge red flag.”

The supervisors said they are authorized to conduct inspections of the Otay Mesa facility under a relatively new section of California’s Health and Safety code. In 2024, a state law amended Health and Safety Code Section 101045 to specifically, “authorize a county or city health officer to investigate a private detention facility as they determine necessary.”

Separate from the county inspection, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, tried to conduct his own unannounced visit Friday afternoon — but ICE agents did not let him in. 

Padilla called the episode, “beyond disappointing but sadly not surprising."

So far in the second Trump administration ICE has denied unannounced visits to all detention facilities, requiring lawmakers to give them a seven-day notice.

“It shouldn’t matter whether it’s advanced notice or not,” Padilla said.

The senator said he was specifically worried that detainees do not have adequate access to fresh food, clean drinking water or quality medical care. Padilla also said he will continue to visit federal detention centers - both with and without advanced notice - to pressure ICE into being more transparent. 

A dozen Democratic lawmakers are currently suing the Trump administration, claiming the Department of Homeland Security is violating a provision of federal law that guarantees their access to federal detention facilities — even if that access is unannounced.

One lawmaker who did give notice was U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, D-49, who was allowed into Otay Mesa on Thursday. In an interview Friday, Levin said the advance notice allows operators of the privately run detention center to “sanitize the facilities.”

“You do the best you can knowing full well that they may be cleaning things up before you get there,” Levin said.

Levin said the detainees were confined to their sleeping quarters during his 3 p.m. visit Thursday and that he was able to see the library, chapel, mess hall and common areas, but nothing else.

ICE officials have previously blocked Levin and other representatives from conducting unannounced visits to other detention facilities, including the basement of the federal courthouse in downtown San Diego.

Rising detainee deaths

Friday’s standoff comes amid intensifying public backlash over the rising death toll of people detained in ICE's custody.

Last year, 32 ICE detainees died, the most since 2004 — and ICE is on pace to surpass that number this year. There have been eight in-custody deaths in detention centers nationwide as of Friday.

The Otay Mesa Detention Center is owned and operated by CoreCivic, a Tennessee-based private prison company that has received more than $269 million in funding from the Trump administration this fiscal year.

A spokesperson for the company said they welcome local inspections and are “cooperating fully.”

“The health, safety and well-being of the individuals entrusted to our care is our top priority,” spokesman Ryan Gustin wrote in a statement. “We take seriously our responsibility to adhere to all applicable federal detention standards in our ICE-contracted facilities.”

The facility undergoes regular reviews and audits by ICE and was recently reaccredited by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, a nonprofit that offers voluntary accreditations, he added.

ICE has not published facility inspection reports since September 2022.

However, several detainees, relatives, lawyers and former staff members have complained about poor living standards at Otay Mesa — including poor medical care and overcrowding conditions.

In 2024, a former supervisor at the facility alleged chronic understaffing that led to poor health outcomes.

Earlier this month, detainees threw shampoo bottles wrapped with handwritten notes alleging deteriorating conditions.

“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh. We are all in one big room with no doors or windows. We can’t see any grass or trees. We are all constantly sick,” read one note obtained by L.A. Taco.

However, while Trump's crackdown isn't as draconian here as in those cities, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested at least 5,000 people in the San Diego region last year, according to federal data obtained by the Deportation Data Project.

This equates to an average of roughly 20 people arrested each day in San Diego and Imperial counties. And the total tally for 2025 is certain to be significantly higher because the arrest numbers are only updated through mid October.

KPBS spent time recently with groups of volunteers who document ICE activity on the streets and at the downtown federal courthouse. They say the impact is real and is being felt by many in the community.

Volunteers organize community patrols in immigrant neighborhoods, accompany people to immigration court, set up hotlines where residents can report ICE sightings and upload videos of any arrests they witness on social media.

“It’s been wild,” said Benjamin Prado, an organizer with Unión del Barrio, one of the groups organizing community patrols.

“Granted, we haven’t seen the intensified type of roving patrols that are out in Los Angeles, Chicago or Minnesota. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not happening here.”

Unión del Barrio organizes multiple daily patrols in San Diego County. One day last week, volunteers drove around Oceanside, Escondido, Vista and Barrio Logan looking for any signs of ICE enforcement.

Some patrols are in direct response to community concerns. Individuals will request Unión del Barrio patrols if they feel too afraid to leave their homes. Parents will ask for morning patrols around certain schools during drop off time, organizers said.

KPBS rode with Prado in Barrio Logan, a working-class immigrant neighborhood that has been the target of sporadic ICE enforcement. He did not see any ICE activity that day.

“It’s quiet,” Prado said. “Quiet is good.”

Most of the morning patrols end without an ICE sighting, which Prado said is a reflection of how federal immigration enforcement is being handled in San Diego.

There were two workplace raids last spring — one at an industrial paint shop outside of El Cajon and another in an Italian restaurant in South Park

However, the norm in San Diego has been quiet but constant enforcement. ICE has made arrests on military bases, near schools, in jails and outside courtrooms and during green card interviews.

And after nearly a year, this approach has produced thousands of arrests.

Courthouse arrests

Separate organizations — Detention Resistance and FAITH (Faithful Accompaniment In Trust & Hope) — have focused on documenting immigration enforcement at San Diego’s downtown federal courthouse.

In May, activists from Detention Resistance were among the first people to post videos of ICE agents arresting immigrants in the hallway as they walked out of their court hearings.

Their efforts have clearly rattled court officials. By the end of the year, immigration court staff posted signs telling people not to record in the hallway. Court observers were also told not to loiter and some were barred from entering immigration courtrooms that were previously more open to the public.

“The general public doesn’t realize how sweeping this immigration enforcement has been,” said Rev. Paige Blair-Hubert, a volunteer with FAITH.

Volunteers told KPBS that they feel stressed, tired, and intimidated. But also fulfilled.

The stress comes from the emotional toll of seeing immigration arrests — particularly those that happen in front of children.

“It lives with me, that baby crying as dad was pushing the baby down the hall and the woman crying as she was led away (by ICE agents),” said Rev. Kathleen Owens, another volunteer with FAITH describing a courthouse arrest last year.

“How do you do that to a family?” she added.

The intimidation comes from increasingly aggressive rhetoric from the White House. Especially after federal agents killed Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last month.

White House officials, including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, described them as “domestic terrorists.”

“I’m not going to tell you we’re not scared because, obviously, we are scared,” said Rommel Diaz, another organizer with Unión del Barrio. “But we will not let this fear paralyze us.”

Diaz moved to the U.S. from Chile more than 40 years ago — he said to escape the authoritarian rule of the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Authoritarian regimes often criminalize vocal opposition groups, Diaz said. He is concerned the White House's rhetoric is a sign of a similar approach.

“They are criminalizing immigrants and then use that criminalization to justify repression,” he said.

La secretaria de Seguridad Nacional, Kristi Noem, tiene previsto llegar al condado de San Diego el jueves para una visita de alto perfil a la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México, donde tiene previsto ofrecer una conferencia de prensa centrada en la seguridad fronteriza y los esfuerzos de control de drogas, según funcionarios federales.

El evento, que se realizará en la comunidad de Otay Mesa, está siendo organizado por el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional como una actualización sobre las iniciativas históricas de seguridad fronteriza e incautación de drogas de la actual administración. Se espera que funcionarios de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza de EE. UU. asistan junto con Noem.

Su visita se produce en un momento en que nuevas encuestas muestran una disminución del apoyo a las tácticas de control fronterizo e migratorio de la administración Trump tras dos tiroteos fatales de manifestantes a manos de agentes de inmigración en Minneapolis. Una encuesta de la NBC mostró que el 49% de los estadounidenses desaprueba firmemente las políticas migratorias de la administración. Esto representa un aumento con respecto al 38% del verano pasado.

Los líderes demócratas de California han condenado constantemente las tácticas de control migratorio de la administración, que incluyen arrestos en tribunales y detenciones de inmigrantes que no han sido acusados de delitos penales.

Pero Noem y otros miembros de la administración Trump han respondido que las políticas de California, incluida su llamada ley santuario, obstaculizan sus esfuerzos para deportar a inmigrantes no autorizados.

“Estos políticos de las ciudades santuario están poniendo en peligro a los estadounidenses y a nuestras fuerzas del orden para proteger a los inmigrantes ilegales delincuentes violentos”, declaró Noem en mayo cuando el departamento publicó una lista de ciudades y estados con políticas de santuario. “Estamos exponiendo a estos políticos de santuario que albergan a inmigrantes ilegales delincuentes y desafían la ley federal. El presidente Trump y yo siempre priorizaremos la seguridad del pueblo estadounidense. Los políticos santuario están sobre aviso: cumplan con la ley federal”.

A principios de esta semana, el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional promocionó su éxito en detener el flujo de drogas ilícitas y los cruces no autorizados en la frontera sur, presentándolos como logros importantes en la estrategia de seguridad general de la administración Trump.

La visita de Noem se produce tras el viaje del gobernador Gavin Newsom la semana pasada al corredor San Diego-Otay Mesa, donde destacó las colaboraciones entre las fuerzas del orden , incluyendo la lucha contra el fentanilo y las redadas federales de inmigración. Contrastó los esfuerzos de colaboración con la decisión de la administración Trump de enviar a la Guardia Nacional a Los Ángeles y otras ciudades demócratas en contra de la voluntad de gobernadores y alcaldes.

Newsom también señaló una investigación de CalMatters que mostró que los arrestos por inmigración en San Diego aumentaron silenciosamente un 1,500% durante el año pasado, “pero sin la fanfarria de lo que estás viendo en tu sala de estar y en tu pantalla que sucede en lugares como Minneapolis”.

El viaje también se desarrolla en el contexto de varios puntos polémicos de índole política y legal que involucran al Departamento de Seguridad Nacional.

En el Congreso, los legisladores demócratas han renovado sus demandas de supervisión y algunos han solicitado un proceso de destitución contra Noem por las tácticas de control migratorio de las agencias bajo su autoridad. Los demócratas en el Congreso carecen de los votos necesarios para destituir a Noem.

Los esfuerzos de Noem para poner fin a las designaciones de Estatus de Protección Temporal para venezolanos, haitianos y somalíes —grupos de inmigrantes con comunidades establecidas en San Diego— han enfrentado desafíos en los tribunales federales.

Funcionarios de la ciudad de San Diego presentaron recientemente una demanda federal acusando al Departamento de Seguridad Nacional y al Departamento de Defensa de instalar ilegalmente cercas de alambre de púas en terrenos municipales cerca de la frontera. La demanda menciona específicamente a la secretaria Noem como demandada, alegando daños ambientales y a la propiedad.

El influencer conservador Nick Shirley ha estado circulando por el condado de San Diego en las últimas semanas, supuestamente grabando videos en City Heights y cerca de centros de cuidado infantil administrados por somalíes, lo que provocó declaraciones de preocupación de los funcionarios estatales y locales sobre el acoso y la seguridad de la comunidad.

Shirley, cuyo contenido ha generado millones de visitas en línea, ha creado una base de seguidores viajando a regiones fronterizas y barrios de inmigrantes, presentándolos como lugares sin ley. Defensores de los inmigrantes y funcionarios locales afirman que sus narrativas tergiversan las condiciones sobre el terreno y exacerban las tensiones.

Su video, en el que se denunciaba fraude en guarderías dirigidas por somalíes en Minnesota, fue ampliamente reconocido por haber atraído una intensa atención federal a las Ciudades Gemelas, incluida la amplia oleada de control de inmigración denominada “Operación Metro Surge”.

El Puerto de Entrada de Otay Mesa es uno de los puntos comerciales y de inspección más activos de la región. Según fuentes federales, las declaraciones de Noem podrían abordar temas como la asignación de recursos, la cooperación federal-estatal, las métricas operativas y el narcotráfico.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is scheduled to be in San Diego County Thursday for a high-profile visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, where she is slated to hold a news conference focused on border security and drug enforcement efforts, according to federal officials.

The event, planned for Otay Mesa, is being framed by the Department of Homeland Security as an update on “historic border security and drug seizure efforts” under the current administration. Officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection are expected to attend alongside Noem.

Her visit comes as new polls show declining support for the Trump administration’s border and immigration enforcement tactics following two fatal shootings of protesters by immigration agents in Minneapolis. A poll for NBC showed that 49% of Americans strongly disapprove of the administration’s immigration policies. That’s an increase from 38% last summer.

California’s Democratic leaders have consistently condemned the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics, which include arrests at courthouses and detentions of immigrants who have not been accused of criminal offenses.

But Noem and others from the Trump administration have countered that California policies, including its so-called sanctuary law, hinder their efforts to deport unauthorized immigrants,

“These sanctuary city politicians are endangering Americans and our law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens,” Noem said in May when the department published a list of cities and states with sanctuary policies. “We are exposing these sanctuary politicians who harbor criminal illegal aliens and defy federal law. President Trump and I will always put the safety of the American people first. Sanctuary politicians are on notice: comply with federal law.”

Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security promoted its success stemming the flow of illicit drugs and unauthorized crossings at the southern border, positioning these as major achievements in the Trump administration’s overall security strategy.

Noem’s visit follows Gov. Gavin Newsom’s trip last week to the San Diego–Otay Mesa corridor last week, where he highlighted law enforcement partnerships, including fentanyl enforcement and federal immigration raids. He contrasted collaborative efforts with the Trump administration’s decision to send the National Guard to Los Angeles and other Democratic cities against the wishes of governors and mayors.

Newsom also pointed to a CalMatters investigation that showed immigration arrests in San Diego have quietly surged by 1,500% over last year, “but without the fanfare of what you’re seeing in your living room and on your screen happening in places like Minneapolis.”

The trip also unfolds in the context of several headline-making policy and legal flashpoints involving the Department of Homeland Security.

In Congress, Democratic lawmakers have renewed calls for oversight and, and some have called for impeachment proceedings against Noem over immigration enforcement tactics by agencies under her authority. Democrats in Congress lack the votes to remove Noem.

Noem’s efforts to end Temporary Protected Status designations for Venezuelans, Haitians and Somalians — immigrant groups with established communities in San Diego — have faced challenges in federal courts.

San Diego city officials recently filed a federal lawsuit accusing the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense of unlawfully installing razor wire fencing on city-owned land near the border. The suit specifically names Secretary Noem as a defendant, asserting environmental and property damage claims.

Conservative influencer Nick Shirley has been circulating through San Diego County in recent weeks, reportedly recording videos in City Heights and near Somali-run child-care centers, provoking statements of concern from state and local officials about harassment and community safety.

Shirley, whose content has drawn millions of views online, has built a following by traveling to border regions and immigrant neighborhoods and portraying them as lawless. Immigrant advocates and local officials say his narratives misrepresent conditions on the ground and inflame tensions.

His video alleging fraud at Somali-run daycares in Minnesota was widely credited with bringing intense federal attention in the Twin Cities, including the sweeping immigration enforcement surge dubbed “Operation Metro Surge.”

The Otay Mesa Port of Entry is one of the busiest commercial and inspection points in the region. Noem’s remarks may touch on resource allocations, federal–state cooperation, and operational metrics and narcotics trafficking, according to federal sources.

Una jueza federal bloqueó el lunes la entrada en vigor de una ley de California que prohibiría a los agentes federales de inmigración cubrirse el rostro, aunque aún se les exigirá llevar una identificación clara que muestre su agencia y número de placa.

California se convirtió en el primer estado en prohibir a la mayoría de los agentes del orden usar coberturas faciales, en un proyecto de ley que fue firmado en septiembre tras las llamativas redadas realizadas en verano por agentes del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE, por sus siglas en inglés) en Los Ángeles.

El gobierno de Trump presentó una demanda en noviembre impugnando las normas, argumentando que amenazarían la seguridad de los agentes que enfrentan acoso, campañas para revelar su información personal en internet y violencia, y que violaban la Constitución porque el estado está regulando directamente al gobierno federal.

La jueza Christina Snyder dijo que emitió el fallo preliminar porque la prohibición de máscaras, tal como fue promulgada, no se aplicaba también a las autoridades estatales, discriminando al gobierno federal. El fallo podría tener implicaciones a nivel nacional mientras los estados lidian con cómo manejar a los agentes federales que aplican la represión migratoria del gobierno de Trump.

Snyder dejó abierta la posibilidad de futuras legislaciones que prohíban a los agentes federales usar máscaras si se aplicara a todas las agencias de seguridad, y señaló que "el Tribunal encuentra que los agentes federales pueden realizar sus funciones federales sin usar máscaras". El fallo entrará en vigor el 19 de febrero.

El gobernador demócrata, Gavin Newsom, firmó en septiembre el proyecto de ley que prohíbe a algunos agentes del orden usar máscaras, cubrebocas y otras coberturas faciales. Estaba programado para entrar en vigor el 1 de enero, pero se suspendió debido a la demanda.

Además de eximir a los agentes del orden estatales, hizo excepciones para agentes encubiertos, equipos de protección como respiradores N95 o equipo táctico, y otras situaciones donde no usar una máscara pondría en peligro una operación. Snyder se puso del lado del gobierno federal, que argumentó que esta exención era discriminatoria contra los agentes federales.

Newsom también firmó una medida que requiere que los agentes del orden lleven una identificación clara que muestre su agencia y número de placa mientras trabajan, lo cual fue impugnado por el gobierno federal pero respaldado por la jueza. En un comunicado, Newsom calificó la decisión de la jueza como "una clara victoria para el Estado de derecho".

El senador estatal de California, Scott Weiner, quien propuso el proyecto de ley original para prohibir las coberturas faciales, dijo el lunes que introduciría de inmediato una nueva legislación para incluir a la policía estatal en la ley.

"El ICE y la Patrulla Fronteriza están cubriendo sus rostros para maximizar su campaña de terror y para protegerse de la rendición de cuentas. Aseguraremos que nuestra prohibición de máscaras pueda ser aplicada", afirmó Weiner en un comunicado de prensa.

En una audiencia el 14 de enero, Snyder preguntó repetidamente al abogado del gobierno, Tiberius Davis, por qué prohibir las máscaras impediría a las fuerzas del orden federales llevar a cabo sus deberes, si los oficiales rara vez usaban máscaras antes de 2025.

Davis citó afirmaciones del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos de que ha habido un aumento multifacético en los asaltos y amenazas contra agentes federales. También mencionó un incidente en Los Ángeles donde tres mujeres están acusadas de transmitir en vivo mientras seguían a un agente de ICE a su casa y publicaban la dirección en Instagram.

"Hay una verdadera disuasión en la seguridad del agente y en su capacidad para desempeñar sus deberes", señaló Davis.

Cameron Bell, abogado del Departamento de Justicia de California, cuestionó sus afirmaciones, diciendo que no había evidencia concreta de que los agentes federales no puedan ejercer sus deberes sin coberturas faciales.

Bell hizo referencia a declaraciones de ciudadanos estadounidenses que han sido detenidos por agentes federales pero pensaron que estaban siendo secuestrados.

"Es obvio por qué estas leyes son de interés público", dijo Bell.

El gobierno federal también argumentó en documentos legales que permitir la legislación de California podría llevar a que otros estados se sientan "envalentonados para imponer restricciones inconstitucionales similares".

Davis citó una declaración de Newsom en julio de 2025 durante una entrevista publicada en internet en la que comentó el proyecto de ley de prohibición de máscaras, en la que dijo que "parece que no tenemos la autoridad legal para los agentes federales, pero sí para otras autoridades del orden público".

Los supervisores del condado de Los Ángeles votaron en diciembre para promulgar una ordenanza local que prohíbe a las fuerzas del orden usar máscaras, que entró en vigor el 8 de enero. Sin embargo, la policía del condado dijo que no aplicaría la ordenanza hasta después de que el tribunal fallara sobre la prohibición estatal de máscaras. La policía de Los Ángeles también había dicho que no aplicaría la prohibición de máscaras.

___

Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

A federal judge on Monday blocked a California law from going into effect that would ban federal immigration agents from covering their faces, but they will still be required to wear clear identification showing their agency and badge number.

California became the first state to ban most law enforcement officers from wearing facial coverings under a bill that was signed in September following the summer of high-profile raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Los Angeles.

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit in November challenging the laws, arguing that they would threaten the safety of officers who are facing harassment, doxing and violence and that they violated the constitution because the state is directly regulating the federal government.

Judge Christina Snyder said she issued the initial ruling because the mask ban as it was enacted did not also apply to state law enforcement authorities, discriminating against the federal government. The ruling could have national implications as states grapple with how to deal with federal agents enforcing the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

It left open the possibility to future legislation banning federal agents from wearing masks if it applied to all law enforcement agencies, with Snyder writing "the Court finds that federal officers can perform their federal functions without wearing masks.” The ruling will go into effect Feb. 19.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill in September banning some law enforcement officers from wearing masks, neck gaiters, and other facial coverings. It was slated to go into effect Jan. 1 but was put on hold due to the lawsuit.

In addition to exempting state law enforcement officers, it made exceptions for undercover agents, protective equipment like N95 respirators or tactical gear, and other situations where not wearing a mask would jeopardize an operation. Snyder sided with the federal government, which argued this exemption was discriminatory against federal agents.

Newsom also signed into law a measure requiring law enforcement to wear clear identification showing their agency and badge number while on the job, which was challenged by the federal government but upheld by the judge. In a statement, Newsom called the judge's decision a “a clear win for the rule of law."

California State Sen. Scott Weiner, who proposed the original bill to ban facial coverings, said Monday he would immediately introduce new legislation to include state police in the law.

“ICE and Border Patrol are covering their faces to maximize their terror campaign and to insulate themselves from accountability,” Weiner said in a news release. “We will ensure our mask ban can be enforced.”

At a Jan. 14 hearing, Snyder repeatedly asked the government’s lawyer, Tiberius Davis, to explain why banning masks would impede the federal law enforcement in carrying out their duties, if officers rarely wore masks prior to 2025.

Davis cited claims by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that there has been a multifold increase in assaults and threats against federal officers. He also brought up an incident in Los Angeles where three women are being accused of livestreaming while following an ICE agent home and posting the address on Instagram.

“There is real deterrence on the officer’s safety and ability to perform their duties,” Davis said.

Cameron Bell, California Department of Justice attorney, challenged his claims, saying there was no concrete evidence that federal agents can’t perform their duties without facial coverings.

Bell referenced declarations from U.S citizens who have been detained by federal agents but thought they were being kidnapped.

“It’s obvious why these laws are in the public interest,” Bell said.

The federal government also argued in legal briefs that allowing California’s legislation could lead other states to be “emboldened to impose similar unconstitutional restraints.”

Davis cited a statement from Newsom in July 2025 during an interview posted online where he discussed the mask ban bill, saying, “It appears that we don’t have the legal authority for federal agents but we do for other law enforcement authorities.”

Los Angeles County supervisors voted in December to enact a local ordinance banning law enforcement from wearing masks that went into effect Jan. 8. However, the sheriff’s department said it would not enforce the ordinance until after the court ruled on the statewide mask ban. The Los Angeles Police Department had also said it wouldn’t enforce the mask ban.

Vargas said his visit was in response to reports detainees had thrown notes wrapped around deodorant and lotion bottles describing substandard food and living conditions.

Vargas's district includes the facility. He said his office has also been receiving complaints about the conditions inside.

"I have every right to go in and do oversight and inspection of this facility and they said "no," Vargas told reporters outside the detention center. "I'm extremely disappointed. I think it's a violation of the law and we'll see them in court."

The facility is run by CoreCivic, which also runs the family detention facility in Dilley, Texas, among others.

Vargas said the warden of the Otay Mesa center said he was under orders from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) not to allow him inside.

The denial came just days after a federal judge ruled the Department of Homeland Security likely broke the law when it barred other members of Congress from visiting immigrant detention facilities unannounced.

Vargas said he's never had an issue getting in until now.

"They've always allowed me in," he said. "Today, they didn't. I attempted to negotiate with them — I said that, you know, I have every right to be here under the law, a judge has allowed that and they refused entry."

Officials at the facility gave Vargas a Jan. 8 memo from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem explaining a policy requiring lawmakers request a visit to ICE facilities at least seven days in advance.

Congressional Democrats are in the midst of a funding dispute with Republicans over ICE, with Democratic leadership demanding body cameras, judicial warrants for arrests and an end to masking among agents.

Vargas says those demands do not go far enough.

"Democrats have to do a lot more," Vargas said when asked about the funding demands. "(ICE has) trampled on the Constitution — the rights of the people. Now they've even murdered people. So we just can't say, 'okay, everything's fine, you know, we're just going to give you less money.' No. That agency should be dismantled completely."

During her appearance on Real America's Voice, Reichert said she was "inspired" by Nick Shirley's December video in Minneapolis alleging fraud at Somali-run day care centers.

Minneapolis is home to the country's largest Somali immigrant population. San Diego is home to its second-largest.

"I started researching state inspection records of these day cares and a very clear pattern emerged ... there would be up to 39 kids enrolled and zero kids present," Reichert told the program's host, echoing the same type of allegations as Shirley's December Minneapolis video.

She goes on to say she sent her findings to Shirley.

"I reached out to Nick Shirley and I said, 'come on out to California,'" Reichert said.

With a New York Times photographer along for the ride the pair visited Somali-owned day care centers, Reichert said.

A Tuesday New York Times profile of Shirley includes photographs and comments from Shirley while in San Diego.

If Reichert's claims are accurate, it's almost exactly how Shirley came to Minneapolis in the first place.

According to the Times, a Minneapolis-based right-wing gadfly and failed political candidate contacted Shirley, claimed to have evidence of fraud in the Somali community, and invited him to Minneapolis.

He was there days later, according to the Times.

Reichert became a public figure during the pandemic leading efforts to reopen business and end masks mandates for children, often appearing at county Board of Supervisor meetings with boisterous and vocal like-minded activists. She also ran two unsuccessful campaigns for a seat on the board.

Reichert declined to be interviewed by KPBS but in a written statement said she hasn't made any fraud accusations.

This technique — alluding to wrongdoing but making no specific claim — is the hallmark of the type of tactics deployed in Shirley's Minneapolis video, according to Jared Holt, an expert on right-wing media and how misinformation spreads online.

"A bunch of filming of locations or people and Shirley saying, 'Isn't that weird? Isn't that strange?'" Holt said of Shirley's Minneapolis day care video. "But the claim that this is essentially a big criminal network or criminal operation is really serious."

Holt is a senior researcher at Open Measures, a company that helps researchers "analyze and monitor the spread of harmful online content, including extremism and disinformation," according to its website. He's also the host of Posting Through It, a podcast that looks at the intersection of politics and social media.

The point of Shirley's videos, Holt said, isn't to prove anything.

"Nick Shirley and people like Nick Shirley ... are making careers in an online media ecosystem that rewards sensationalism, that rewards being inflammatory and that rewards affirming the biases of what they think their audience is," Holt said.

Even without evidence the accusations had an impact. The Trump administration cited the alleged fraud found by Shirley to justify its deadly immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis.

Weeks earlier, Trump called Somali people "garbage."

His administration last month moved to freeze federal child care funding to five Democratic-led states, including Minnesota and California, but a court blocked the action pending litigation.

The harassment soon spread to San Diego, according to the local chapter of the United Domestic Workers of America.

Photos of Shirley in San Diego last week began circulating online, further stoking fear in the Somali community.

San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera said the city should be alarmed that harassing behavior is being encouraged and celebrated by far-right extremists.

"Showing up uninvited to home-based family child care centers and demanding to see children is not journalism — it’s harassment," Elo-Rivera said in a statement. "It’s an act rooted in racism, dehumanization, and disregard for the safety and dignity of children and caregivers."

Elo-Rivera's district includes City Heights, home to a diverse immigrant community and a large concentration of Somali Americans.

It's not just influencers such as Shirley and Reichert knocking on doors of at-home day cares, Elo-Rivera said.

A video provided to KPBS by the council member's office shows an unidentified man knocking on the front door of an at-home day care.

Benjamin Mendoza, a spokesperson for Elo-Rivera, said the incident occurred Tuesday.

Rahmo Abdi is a director at Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, or PANA, a refugee advocacy organization.

She said the community is organized and ready to protect one another.

"Through know your rights trainings, mutual aid, and a rapid response network, everyday people in San Diego are standing up for our communities and protecting each other," Abdi said in a statement Wednesday. "This is what we do in San Diego and these are our values across California."

It's unclear when or if Shirley's video will publish. Reichert said she is expecting it next week.

Holt isn't sure the video will have the same effect in San Diego as it did in Minneapolis but isn't surprised people are trying to get on the bandwagon.

"(Shirley's) video in Minneapolis made him an overnight success — his YouTube channel gained more than a million followers," Holt said. "For other people who are aspiring influencers — who might seek that kind of notoriety or ... impact in right-wing politics — I'm not surprised that others are trying to replicate the formula or that Shirley would be kind of looking around for his next hit."

Holt recommends for anyone watching Shirley's videos, or any political influencer's video, to understand the larger media environment from which they come.

"At this point Nick Shirley is plugged into a political media machine that exists to push talking points and validate partisan leaders in their claims and suspicions," Holt said.

People have been charged with and convicted of fraud in the child care system.

In Minnesota, a 2019 state investigation led to criminal fraud charges among at least a dozen people and businesses, according to 19thNews.

In California, an LAist review of federal district court news releases statewide found only one case of child care fraud in the last decade, a 2023 San Diego case in which four people faced charges of running a child care benefits scheme.

Holt says these cases aren't indicative of systemic fraud, however.

"Like any good hyper-partisan content, there's a grain of truth under these videos," he said.

But the work Shirley produces, Holt said, isn't journalism.

"Nick Shirley is not an intrepid investigative, independent journalist," he said. "He exists as part of a media ecosystem that has very clear ideological and partisan ambitions. I would encourage people to keep that in mind and take it with a Margaritaville-sized grain of salt."

California state government officials are pushing back on the allegations.

A January news release says the presence or absence of children at any facility isn't an indicator of fraud and that there are a variety of legitimate reasons children may not be present during an inspection.

"If an inspector visits a child care home at 10 a.m., school-aged kids are in school," the California Department of Social Services said in a statement. "Therefore, the inspection report should show that a child care home serving school-aged kids had zero children present. Also, some providers serve parents who work nights or weekends."

A follow-up statement sent to KPBS Wednesday says the state pursues fraud when it occurs and shuts down bad actors.

Mayor Todd Gloria's office did not respond to a request for comment.

The Trump administration is reportedly pulling 700 immigration agents from Minneapolis but hasn't announced whether it is preparing another surge operation elsewhere.

KPBS asked the San Diego U.S. Attorney's Office if federal prosecutors have been told to prepare for such an operation here — a spokesperson declined to comment.

A pesar de las raras negociaciones entre los demócratas y el presidente Donald Trump, un acuerdo bipartidista sobre nuevas restricciones sobre la policía migratoria en las próximas dos semanas será extremadamente difícil, o incluso "una imposibilidad", como dijo el líder de la mayoría republicana en el Senado, John Thune.

El Congreso está discutiendo posibles nuevas reglas para el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE) y la Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza después de que agentes mataran a dos manifestantes en Minneapolis en enero. Las negociaciones se producen en medio de un sentimiento bipartidista de que el Congreso debería intervenir para bajar las tensiones sobre las redadas migratorias que han estremecido a Minnesota y otros estados.

El presidente Donald Trump acordó la semana pasada una solicitud demócrata de que la financiación para el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional se separe de un proyecto de ley de gastos más amplio y se extienda a los niveles actuales durante dos semanas mientras las dos partes discuten posibles requisitos para los agentes federales. El presidente de la Cámara de Representantes, el republicano Mike Johnson, dijo este fin de semana que estaba en la Casa Blanca cuando Trump habló con el líder demócrata del Senado, Chuck Schumer, de Nueva York, y que estaban "en el camino para llegar a un acuerdo".

Pero no está claro si el presidente o suficientes republicanos en el Congreso aceptarán alguna de las demandas más amplias de los demócratas de que los agentes se desenmascaren e identifiquen, obtengan órdenes judiciales en ciertos casos y trabajen con las autoridades locales, entre otras solicitudes. Los republicanos ya han rechazado estas propuestas.

Y los legisladores republicanos están exigiendo que algunas de sus propias prioridades se agreguen al proyecto de ley de gastos de Seguridad Nacional, incluida una legislación que requeriría prueba de ciudadanía para votar. El senador Lindsey Graham y otros senadores republicanos están presionando por restricciones a las ciudades santuario que, según ellos, no hacen lo suficiente para frenar la inmigración ilegal. No hay una definición clara de jurisdicciones santuario, pero el término generalmente se aplica a los gobiernos estatales y locales que limitan la cooperación con las autoridades federales de inmigración.

También es incierto si los demócratas, que están furiosos por las agresivas redadas migratorias de la administración Trump, estarían dispuestos a ceder.

"No necesitamos promesas. Necesitamos respeto a la ley", declaró Schumer, agregando que los demócratas presentarán a los republicanos una "propuesta seria y detallada" pronto.

Un vistazo a las demandas de los demócratas y lo que dicen los republicanos sobre ellas:

Acuerdo sobre cámaras corporales

Los republicanos dicen que están dispuestos a aceptar las cámaras corporales para los agentes, un cambio que ya estaba en el proyecto original. La secretaria de Seguridad Nacional, Kristi Noem, respaldó eso el lunes cuando ordenó que se emitieran cámaras corporales a cada policía de Seguridad Nacional en el terreno en Minneapolis, incluidos los del ICE. Dijo que la política se expandiría a nivel nacional a medida que la financiación esté disponible.

El proyecto ya dirigía 20 millones de dólares para equipar a los agentes con cámaras corporales.

Gil Kerlikowske, quien se desempeñó como comisionado de la Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza de 2014 a 2017, apuntó que la mayoría de los agentes son partidarios de las cámaras porque podrían exonerarlos en caso necesario. Pero agregó que quedan preguntas complejas, incluyendo cuándo se debe publicar el video y cuándo deben activarse las cámaras.

"¿Cuándo la enciendes? Y si te metiste en un problema y no la tenías encendida, ¿vas a ser disciplinado? Es realmente bastante complejo", señaló.

Schumer dijo el martes que las cámaras corporales "necesitan permanecer encendidas".

Desacuerdo sobre agentes enmascarados

A medida que circulan a nivel nacional videos y fotos de tácticas agresivas y disparos contra civiles, ha estallado una pugna sobre si los agentes deben permanecer enmascarados. Los demócratas argumentan que quitarse las máscaras aumentaría la rendición de cuentas. Los republicanos advierten que podría exponer a los agentes al acoso y las amenazas.

"La policía estatal, la policía local no lo hacen", indicó el representante Bennie Thompson, el principal demócrata en el Comité de Seguridad Nacional. "Digo, ¿qué tiene de especial un agente del ICE que tiene que usar máscara?"

Pero es poco probable que los republicanos accedan a eso.

"A diferencia de la policía local, los agentes del ICE están siendo doxeados y atacados. Tenemos evidencia de eso", sostuvo Johnson el martes. Agregó que si "los desenmascaras y pones toda su información identificativa en su uniforme, obviamente serán atacados".

A los oficiales de inmigración ya se les requiere identificarse "tan pronto como sea práctico y seguro hacerlo", según las regulaciones federales. Los funcionarios del ICE insisten en que esas reglas se están siguiendo. Los críticos dicen que no es así.

"Simplemente vemos rutinariamente que eso no está sucediendo", afirmó Nithya Nathan Pineau, abogada del Immigrant Legal Resource Center.

Órdenes judiciales vs. administrativas

Los demócratas también han exigido un uso más estricto de las órdenes judiciales y el fin de las patrullas itinerantes que apuntan a personas en las calles y en sus hogares. Schumer dijo el martes que quieren "órdenes de arresto y el fin del perfil racial".

La mayoría de los arrestos de inmigración se llevan a cabo bajo órdenes administrativas, documentos internos emitidos por las autoridades de inmigración que autorizan el arresto de una persona específica pero no permiten a los policías entrar por la fuerza en hogares privados u otros espacios no públicos sin consentimiento. Tradicionalmente, solo las órdenes firmadas por jueces tienen esa autoridad.

Pero un memorando interno del ICE obtenido por The Associated Press el mes pasado autoriza a los elementos de esa agencia a usar la fuerza para entrar en una residencia basándose únicamente en una orden administrativa más estrecha para arrestar a alguien con una orden final de deportación, algo que los defensores dicen choca con las protecciones de la Cuarta Enmienda.

Los demócratas no han dejado claro cuán ampliamente quieren que se usen las órdenes judiciales. El líder demócrata de la Cámara de Representantes, Hakeem Jeffries, expresó que los demócratas quieren ver "el fin de las redadas en lugares sensibles como templos, escuelas y hospitales".

Johnson se quejó el martes que los demócratas están tratando de "agregar una capa completamente nueva" al buscar órdenes firmadas por un juez en lugar de las órdenes administrativas que son firmadas por el departamento. "No podemos hacer eso", aseguró.

El presidente de la Cámara ha dicho que el fin de las patrullas itinerantes es un área potencial de acuerdo, pero no dio detalles.

Código de conducta y más responsabilidad

Los demócratas también han pedido un código de conducta uniforme para todos los agentes del ICE y federales similar a los policías estatales y locales.

El gobierno de Trump le impidió a los investigadores estatales acceder a las pruebas después de que Renee Good fuera asesinada a tiros por un agente del ICE el 7 de enero. El gobernador Tim Walz, un demócrata, exigió que se permitiera al estado participar, diciendo que sería "muy difícil para los habitantes de Minnesota" aceptar que una investigación que excluya al estado pueda ser justa.

Esperando un milagro

Cualquier acuerdo sobre el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional probablemente no será aceptado por todos los demócratas. La representante Ayanna Pressley de Massachusetts, por ejemplo, aseveró que nunca apoyaría un acuerdo que no requiriera desenmascaramiento.

"Me postulé para el Congreso en 2018 para abolir el ICE", manifestó Pressley. "Mi posición no ha cambiado".

Thune, de Dakota del Sur, ha dicho repetidamente que es una "imposibilidad" negociar y aprobar algo tan complicado en dos semanas. Destacó que cualquier conversación debería ser entre los demócratas y Trump.

"No creo que sea muy realista", indicó Thune el martes sobre encontrar un acuerdo rápido. "Pero siempre hay milagros, ¿verdad?"

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La corresponsal Rebecca Santana contribuyó a esta nota.

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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

El mes pasado, el presidente Trump anunció su intención de retener fondos federales a las ciudades santuario para inmigrantes, a las que describió como caóticas y peligrosas.

“Ellos hacen todo lo posible por proteger a los criminales a costa de los ciudadanos estadounidenses”, dijo. “Eso genera fraude, crimen y todos los demás problemas que vienen con ello”.

Pero varios estudios muestran que las jurisdicciones santuario no son más peligrosas que aquellas que no lo son. De hecho, las personas que viven en ciudades santuario tienden a experimentar menos crimen y a tener ingresos más altos.

The Border Brief presentó recientemente parte de esta investigación.

El primer estudio se realizó en 2017, durante el primer mandato de Trump. El investigador de UC San Diego, Tom Wong, analizó datos del FBI y del censo para comparar jurisdicciones santuario y no santuario.

“Lo que mostraron los datos fue que los condados santuario en realidad eran más seguros y tenían menos crimen que condados comparables que no eran santuario”, dijo Wong.

Un estudio de seguimiento en 2020 llegó a una conclusión similar.

En 2024, Wong encuestó a personas migrantes indocumentadas para obtener más información sobre por qué los datos muestran que las jurisdicciones santuario tienden a ser más seguras. Los resultados de la encuesta sugieren que la confianza comunitaria es un factor clave.

“Puedes confiar más en las fuerzas del orden si necesitas su ayuda, porque la policía local no va a derivar en algo como un arresto relacionado con inmigración”, explicó.