DHS Secretary Kristi Noem visits Otay Mesa’s Port of Entry
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson … it’s FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13TH>>>> [WHY MANY D-H-S EMPLOYEES COULD GO WITHOUT PAY AS SOON AS TOMORROW ]More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….#######
A SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE RULED THAT GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE AT RADY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL MUST CONTINUE - AT LEAST FOR NOW
RADY WAS SUED BY ATTORNEY GENERAL ROB BONTA AFTER THE HOSPITAL ANNOUNCED IT WAS CUTTING THE SERVICES.
BONTA’S OFFICE SAYS THAT AS PART OF RADY'S MERGER WITH CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF ORANGE COUNTY, ANY ELIMINATION OF SUCH SERVICES REQUIRES APPROVAL FROM THE A-G'S OFFICE
THIS DECISION COMES AMID RADY SHARING WHAT THEY DESCRIBE AS
ESCALATING THREATS FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO END
MEDI-CARE AND MEDI-CAID FUNDING
THE SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE SAID ITS A THREAT THAT MIGHT BECOME A REALITY, BUT IT IS NOT YET AT THAT STAGE
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A LITTLE MORE THAN 3 HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN UNCLAIMED
PROPERTY TAX REFUNDS WILL BE SPENT ON A RENTAL-ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM PROVIDING SUPPORT TO LOW-INCOME SENIOR CITIZENS
THAT’S AFTER THE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS VOTED ON THE PROPOSAL EARLIER THIS WEEK
THE PROGRAM PROVIDES A RENT-SUBSIDY TO ELDERS WITH LOW-INCOMES
AND WHO ARE AT RISK OF EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS
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BACK IN OCTOBER, NEARLY TWO MILLION DOLLARS IN COMMUNITY PARKING DISTRICT FUNDS WERE REALLOCATED TO GO TOWARDS INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIRS
AND SINCE THEN, SAN DIEGO CITY CREWS SAY THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO
PUT THAT MONEY TO GOOD USE
MORE THAN 1 THOUSAND STREET LIGHTS AND NEARLY TWENTY-FIVE HUNDRED POTHOLES HAVE BEEN REPAIRED SINCE THE CHANGE
THE REPAIRS TOOK PLACE ACROSS THE FOUR COMMUNITY PARKING DISTRICT AREAS — MID-CITY, DOWNTOWN, UPTOWN AND PACIFIC BEACH
THE CITY SAYS SIDEWALKS ARE ALSO BEING REPAIRED IN BOTH UPTOWN AND DOWNTOWN
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
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HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM WAS IN SAN DIEGO YESTERDAY TO TALK ABOUT DRUG SEIZURES.
REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN SAYS THE VISIT COMES AS FUNDING FOR HER DEPARTMENT IS SET TO EXPIRE.
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NOEMVISIT 1 (ab) 1:20 soq
KN (speaking over sirens): Thank you for being here, I'm Kristi Noem, the secretary for homeland security.
AB: Noem spoke to reporters at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in front of evidence boxes she said were full of drugs seized at the border. She spoke over sirens, turned on in an apparent effort to drown out protesters chanting just outside the facility. Noem praised the officers who catch the drugs, mostly at legal border crossings.
KN: Now the men and women here at Otay Mesa are heroes who work around the clock to make sure that they're keeping Americans safe. Fentanyl has killed countless Americans who still should be here with us today. In fact I've met many parents who have lost children to fentanyl poisoning.
AB: Fentanyl deaths in the U.S. began to drop under President Biden in 2023. Experts point to the growing availability of Narcan, which can reverse overdoses. One recent study suggested a crackdown in China could be disrupting the global supply of the narcotic. Noem’s visit coincided with a drawdown of federal agents from Minneapolis following the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Democrats in Congress are demanding limits to ICE and CBP officer conduct in exchange for funding Noem's department. If no deal is reached, many DHS employees will be working without pay starting on Saturday. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.
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MIDDAY EDITION HOST JADE HINDMON SPOKE WITH ‘WIRED’S” LEAH FEIGER [FYE-GERR] ABOUT HER ARTICLE ON ICE EXPANDING ACROSS THE U-S … HERE’S THAT CONVERSATION
(0:00) First, I want to ask you, how did this story get on your radar? (0:04) Yeah, so I think the way that so many of our stories at Wired start is really with a very (0:10) technical, almost mechanical question, which is, where were all of these ICE employees going to (0:16) literally sit and be based? And to back up a little bit, since President Donald Trump took office, (0:21) ICE has more than doubled in size. DHS claims that the agency now has over 22,000 officers (0:28) and agents stationed around the country. They've received nearly $80 billion from the Big Beautiful (0:33) Bill.
So with all of this, quite literally, where were people going to go? So that was the guiding (0:39) question that I used going into this to really try and figure out, OK, are we talking just only (0:45) expanded offices? Are we talking a couple of cities? Where should we be looking here? And (0:50) that's when we found out that it was everywhere. Wow. So when we hear ICE facility, a lot of people (0:57) might think of detention facilities, which are also expanding across the country and also known (1:03) as black sites due to their clandestine nature.
But to be clear, that's not necessarily what (1:08) we're talking about here, right? Exactly. So, yeah, our reporting doesn't necessarily refer (1:13) to these warehouse detention facilities. There's been so much great reporting on them from Bloomberg (1:18) to The Washington Post to a lot of great local papers.
These offices that we reported on really (1:24) appear to be leasing spaces or plans for leasing leasing spaces for ICE's enforcement and removal (1:29) operations, which is known as the ERO, and the Office of Principal Legal Advisor, which is known (1:34) as OPLA. And these are ICE divisions and they're located across the country. Wow.
You label this (1:40) months long operation to expand ICE offices a secret campaign. Why is that? Yeah. So we call (1:49) this secret because in numerous memos and documents that I viewed, DHS asked GSA, which is (1:56) the General Services Administration, which is where a lot of our reporting is about because (2:02) they're the branch of the government that handles internal IT and also government leasing.
But anyway, (2:08) DHS asked GSA explicitly to disregard usual government lease procurement procedures and (2:14) actually even hide listings due to, quote unquote, national security concerns. We have so many (2:20) different memos to this effect, and it really paints kind of a wild picture from the fall of 2025 (2:25) through starting in September. But again, you really emphasize, you know, this rapid speed at (2:31) which these leases are being acquired.
I mean, talk to me a bit about that. Yeah. You know, government (2:36) work doesn't usually happen this quickly, for better or for worse.
And that's partially because of (2:42) bureaucracy, but it's also in order to have the public and relevant stakeholders weigh in. Like (2:47) there is a very serious part of government process that is actively slow in order to allow for that, (2:54) in order to allow for this outside input. That just clearly didn't happen here.
And as the Trump (3:00) administration continues supporting ICE's rapid expansion and growth, the checks and balances for (3:04) its power and spread are appearing virtually non-existent. So we can't talk about the secrecy (3:09) without talking about the speed. It's just too much for your average American resident, lawyer, (3:14) journalist, anyone to keep up with.
But people really should know that if they go to the dentist, (3:19) drop their kids off at preschool, go to church, wherever they're trying to go, that they're (3:23) within walking distance of ICE facilities. I want to talk about where these offices will be. (3:30) You report that these facilities will be placed near sensitive locations, communal spaces, you know, (3:35) like elementary schools and places of worship.
What are some examples that stand out to you (3:40) beyond that? Gosh, this is, I mean, like, how long do you have? Can I just read my entire list? (3:47) It was shocking. It was shocking. I'm looking at these addresses and I'm like, wait, what are you (3:51) talking about? Can you actually do that? Can you put an office next to a preschool without (3:56) telling everyone? These are all places that regular people go to on a day-to-day basis with no (4:01) expectation that they'll be interacting with ICE agents, officers, lawyers, no expectation that (4:06) they should be carrying any sort of paperwork that designates their status in this country, (4:10) or no expectation that they might not be going home after going on this walk.
It's mind-boggling (4:16) to me that the government's trying to keep this secret. Wow. Well, some of these facilities will (4:22) actually be sharing, again, office space with other entities.
You mentioned the DMV. Any other (4:28) offices? Yeah. We have a couple of one.
We reported about places sharing with (4:37) drug enforcement agencies. In San Diego, your city, ICE's planned location at the Edward J. (4:44) Schwartz Courthouse building. This is happening all over the country.
We kept coming across where (4:51) it was like maybe ICE would have already been there, for example, the Rosa Parks (4:55) Federal Building in Detroit, but now they appear to be expanding. It's every single location we (5:03) had. There was either a presence or appeared to be plans for further presence.
There'd already (5:08) been protests in communities with regards to ICE and ICE treatment. It's just so widespread. (5:15) Wow.
That San Diego building, the Edward J. Schwartz Courthouse and Federal Building, (5:20) it's the same place where we've seen reports of people being held in the basement. (5:27) Our legislators can't seem to get in there to tour the place to see what's happening. What does (5:33) all of that signal to you? California is in a bit of a unique situation right now.
(5:41) What it means for California could be something that WIRED has actually reported before. A few (5:49) was eyeing New York and California as follow-up locations post-Minnesota for fraud investigations. (5:55) Is it safe to say there's more to come? (5:58) Yes.
Simply, this is the first and hopefully a few pieces we're going to do on this. (6:04) All of this information is really happening in real time. (6:08) Wow.
I've been speaking with Leah Feiger. She's Senior Politics Editor with WIRED. (6:13) Leah, thank you so much and congratulations on this important reporting.
(6:18) Thank you so much for having me.
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DEFENSE CONTRACTORS WERE IN SAN DIEGO THIS WEEK TO HEAR FROM THE NAVY AND MARINE CORPS (CORE) ABOUT HOW THEY PLAN TO SPEND A RECORD AMOUNT OF MONEY ON DEFENSE IN THE COMING YEARS.
MILITARY REPORTER ANDREW DYER SAYS THE MESSAGE FROM THE MILITARY AT THE ANNUAL WEST CONFERENCE WAS SIMPLE – ‘WE’VE GOT THE MONEY AND WE’RE LOOKING TO SPEND IT.’
WESTTECH 1 (ad) :59 SOQ
DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH’S NEW A-I ACCELERATION STRATEGY IS SUPPOSED TO HELP STREAMLINE CONTRACTING TO BRING NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO THE MILITARY FASTER.
THE PROMISE OF MORE DEFENSE SPENDING, FEWER GUARDRAILS AND AN ADMINISTRATION ALL-IN ON A-I HAS IGNITED A FEEDING FRENZY AMONG PRIVATE SECTOR COMPANIES LOOKING FOR A PIECE OF THE ACTION.
DURING HIS CONFERENCE KEYNOTE SPEECH NAVY SECRETARY JOHN PHELAN (FEY-LIN) TOLD AN AUDIENCE OF MOSTLY DEFENSE INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES THE PENTAGON HAS A NEW TOLERANCE FOR RISK.
JP: “THE WEIGHT OF CALCULATED ACTION OUTWEIGHS THE COMFORT OF CAUTION. IT IS BETTER TO BEAR THE BURDEN OF BOLD ATTEMPTS THAN CARRY THE REGRET OF WHAT
COULD HAVE BEEN…”
FORMER JOINT CHIEFS VICE CHAIRMAN ADMIRAL CHRISTOPHER GRADY TALKED ABOUT THE CHALLENGE OF TRAINING TROOPS TO USE NEW A - I TOOLS.
CG: “NOW WE HAVE TO TEACH OUR OPERATORS AND OFFICER CORPS AND THE REST ON HOW WE USE THE DATA RIGHT DOWN TO ‘WHAT’S THE RIGHT WAY TO WRITE A PROMPT?’”
THE PENTAGON PLANS TO SPEND MORE THAN $145 BILLION DOLLARS ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT THIS YEAR.
ANDREW DYER, KPBS NEWS
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STUDENT ARTISTS FROM SAN YSIDRO HIGH SCHOOL ARE SHOWCASING THEIR UPBRINGING AND FUTURE PLANS IN A NEW EXHIBITION.
EDUCATION REPORTER KATIE ANASTAS SAYS IT’S ON DISPLAY IN BALBOA PARK.
GARDENART1 1:12 SOQ
Twelfth grader Estefania Padilla grew up in Tijuana. She remembers walking through town with her grandfather, visiting their favorite stores.
PADILLA
Walking around seeing colorful places to me as a kid was super fun.
She’s recreated that scene in a colored pencil drawing…now on display at the Japanese Friendship Garden.
At the center is Padilla…riding a giant guinea pig. That’s a reference to a childhood pet that inspired her to pursue a career in veterinary medicine.
PADILLA
I was a very studious kid, and my biggest dream was to become a veterinarian.
Padilla is one of the artists featured in the exhibit. It’s called “Roots and Blossoms.” The pieces showcase students’ heritage and dreams for the future.
Next to each piece is an artist’s statement. That’s something many art students don’t write until college, says art teacher Daniel Solomon.
SOLOMON
You get a chance to share with people, this is why I chose this flower. This is why I chose this color.
It’s also the students’ first time showing their art outside of the classroom.
SOLOMON
So I'm really, really proud of all of the entities that came together to provide these students an opportunity to display their artwork publicly so they know that they deserve to be, you know, praised.
The exhibit runs through Thursday, February 19. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.
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AS WE DO FOR YOU EACH WEEKEND, HERE ARE SOME EVENT IDEAS FOR YOU AND YOURS HAPPENING ACROSS THE COUNTY THIS VALENTINE’S DAY WEEKEND
WITH EVENTS ON FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, THE 20-26 S-D
LUNAR NEW YEAR FESTIVAL LOOKS LIKE A HEAP OF CULTURAL-FILLED FUN!
IT’S FREE, AND IS TAKES PLACE AT OFFICER JEREMY HENWOOD MEMORIAL PARK IN CITY HEIGHTS
YOU CAN COMPETE IN AN EATING AND DRINKING CONTEST AND WATCH DANCE PERFORMANCES
THE KIDDOS WILL BE ABLE TO EXPRESS THEIR CREATIVITY WITH THREE CHILDREN’S ART MURALS
LOVE LIT CON ALSO WILL HAVE EVENTS ALL WEEKEND LONG,
TAKING PLACE AT THE SHERATON ON HARBOR ISLAND DRIVE
IT’S A CONVENTION FOR ROMANCE BOOKS LOVERS
THERE WILL BE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS, PANEL DISCUSSIONS, AUTHOR SIGNINGS AND PARTIES
LAST BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST ON SUNDAY, THERE IS DAY-GO EATZ
ITS A CELEBRATION OF BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES AS PART OF THIS YEARS BLACK HISTORY MONTH OFFERINGS
THE EVENT WILL FEATURE GAMES, LIVE MUSIC, YOGA AND FOOD TRUCKS
THERE’S ALSO FACE-PAINTING AND A BOUNCE HOUSE FOR THE KIDDOS
THAT TAKES PLACE FROM NOON TO FIVE AT 6-7-8-5 IMPERIAL AVE IN ENCANTO
WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO THIS WEEKEND, BE SAFE AND ENJOY!
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That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Lawrence K. Jackson. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend.
