Months after a majority of the Escondido City Council left a contract with the Department of Homeland Security in place to use a city-owned shooting range for practice, community members made their voices heard again.
Protesters gathered Thursday outside of City Hall.
“It’s something so uncomfortable for our community. We know they are kidnapping our community members every day in Escondido,” Patricia Serrano, 59, said.
She's a long-time Escondido resident who used to be undocumented. She said immigration enforcement has escalated significantly there since early 2025.
A KPBS investigation showed that those arrest numbers continue to surge since Trump’s second term began. Many of those arrested in San Diego and Imperial counties have no criminal record.
“I’m still afraid. I'm afraid to do interviews, I'm afraid to go out. I have to carry my passport with me. My son doesn't feel secure that I'm out here, speaking up,” Serrano said. “So it's fear. It's fear in our bodies. Fear in our communities. Our kids are afraid.”
Back in February, hundreds of speakers provided nearly five hours of public comment asking the city to end the contract with DHS.
KPBS previously reported that the agency has used the firing range off of Valley Center Road since 2013.
“The County of San Diego terminated their own firing range agreement with ICE. That’s important. They should follow their lead,” Salvador Sarmiento said.
He's a staff attorney and campaign director for National Day Laborer Organizing Network.
“This isn't going away," he said. "You can't do business with ICE after all the violence we've seen, what we know about this agency — the separation of families.”
He said his organization helped file a Public Records Act request. They received thousands of documents and reviewed them.
He claims the documents reveal that the firing range rental has enabled abuse in other cities, like Minneapolis and Los Angeles.
“The mayor and chief of police can end this contract any day they would like," Sarmiento said. "But we now know the renewal is coming up towards the end of the year.”
Escondido Councilmember Consuelo Martinez moved to cancel the contract in February, but her motion failed.
Protestors are calling on Mayor Dane White, police Chief Ken Plunkett and the other councilmembers to listen to their requests.
“The City’s agreement is specifically with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative arm of ICE — not with Customs and Border Protection (CBP),” Councilmember Joe Garcia said in an emailed statement. “At the same time, I believe the larger issue facing our country is the urgent need for meaningful immigration reform.”
Other councilmembers, the mayor and police chief have responded to requests for comment.
Protest organizers said they plan to bring the issue back to the Council during its Sept. 30 meeting.
