By Angelo Haynes
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors convened a meeting at the County Administration Center to discuss ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and CBP (Customs and Border Protection) use of county property and facilities for firearms training. A period of public comment was held on Agenda discussion item #24, which drew 57 public comments with 38
being in person. Many giving public comment in attendance represented groups from all over Riverside and San Diego counties, in some cases, working in coalition.
This issue of training of ICE and CBP officers at county facilities was brought about by a recommendation from County Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer (District 3) and Pro-Tem
Paloma Aguirre (District 1). This was in response to the growing number of violent encounters in communities being targeted by ICE and CBP raids. The discussion was for whether or not the county should continue allowing ICE and CPB use of our facilities for training. Supervisors Monica Montgomery-Steppe (District 4), Joel Anderson (District 2) and Jim Desmond (District 5) were also in attendance and in quorum.
Groups represented in the meetings proceedings included: Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), San Diego Legal Aid Society, San Diego Immigrants Rights Consortium (SDIRC), Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) and CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations). Many of the comments were in support of the Aguirre’s and Lawson-Remer’s proposal.
Lawyers from the Legal Aid Society came out in favor of ending county facility use and stated that many of their clients feared appearing at meetings where county buildings currently
harbor immigration officers. The Legal Aid Society provided 1-on-1 legal counseling to over 22,000 citizens in San Diego, with many needing their services for immigration hearings.
Many other activists stated that the fear of deportation looms large in many communities, especially impacting students. Lawson-Remer and many other groups stressed the identity of San Diego as a “Bi-National Community” emphasizing a legal structure that balances efficient cross-border trade and economic development with national security.
After public remarks, Aguirre commented during the board discussion that the Trump Administration’s decision to close the border during an incident that lasted 5 hours did considerable damage increasing border crossing times currently in excess of 8 hours. This statement appeared to highlight that much of the dysfunction being created at the border is the result of policies coming down from Washington, not local governance.
At the moment, DHS (Department of Homeland Security) CBP, and ICE budget sits at approximately 19 and 78 billion dollars respectively. Many public commenters made observations
of this large budget urging the federal government to develop its own training facilities locally leaving county resources to be used by local authorities.
Sidney Aki, Regional Director of Field Operations with CBP for San Diego and Imperial Valley, was called upon by Supervisor Jim Desmond to give expert comments in regards to this motion’s potential impacts to operational integrity.
“We are the busiest field office in the nation. 225,000 people cross through the border every single day, 90,000 passenger vehicles, 50,000 pedestrians. 5,500 trucks worth $174 million dollars, every day, of merchandise coming,” Aki said. He went on. “We have limited opportunities here with regards to qualifying our officers…. We have 2,000 officers here. Our training days will now be extended from one day to two or three days… Officers will be pulled off our operations.”
Agent Aki’s comments sat amid an ensuing discussion, which discussed impacts this motion would have on wait times at the San Ysidro border crossing and other legal ports of entry.
When finally put to a vote, the Board voted 3-2 in favor of disallowing ICE and CBP use of county facilities for firearms training. With Aguirre, Lawson-Remer, and Montgomery-Steppe Voting Yes. Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond voted no.
