By Michael Angelo
On day one of the second Trump administration, a flurry of executive orders were signed reshaping immigration enforcement in the country by declaring a national emergency at the southern border, redirecting military funds for border enforcement, and restricting asylum access to anyone engaged in a so-called invasion of the United States.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was also directed to immediately and aggressively escalate operations and surge arrests by establishing high daily quotas which management would be held accountable for missing (increasing the likelihood of non-criminal arrests).
Just shy of 600 days later, we can see the direct and harrowing results of these actions. A recent ACLU research report titled Agents of Chaos and Cruelty documents the widespread violation of civil rights being committed by ICE agents during the second Trump administration’s first year. Across eight states, the report found more than 400 of the over 1,200 ICE incidents examined involved misconduct by agents. The report also emphasizes no one was off limits, and found dozens of instances of agents detaining U.S. citizens, asylumsees, and people with disabilities.
Agents were also reported to have “targeted, used force and intimidation against, and arrested” legal/ community observers, protesters, journalists, elected officials and their staff, and even members of the clergy. This cruelty has resulted in the killing of at least seven people during enforcement operations including 23 year-old Colombian immigrant and father Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, whose car was allegedly rammed by agents before he was fatally shot through the windshield a little over a month ago, and 37 year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti, who was shot multiple times and killed by ICE agents back in January.
At the end of May, the Rag published an article titled ICE Capades in San Diego, compiling actions taken by ICE in recent months to explore how the agency has been conducting itself in America’s Finest City. Here is an update on recent events and articles involving ICE in San Diego:
Chaotic scene unfolds around Federal Agents in City Heights
Chaos broke out in a City Heights neighborhood on the 23rd of last month when protesters and activists swarmed an area after receiving a tip that ICE agents had been spotted there. A member of Union Del Barrio, an organization that patrols areas to warn others of possible ICE presence, said at least six different ICE Vehicles were spotted roaming the area and called this an act of hostility and intimidation, adding the group began to document and demand the agencies depart from their communities.
According to an unidentified resident, the whole thing started after an agent’s truck failed to start and they began to wait for a tow truck. SDPD was called to the scene where video shows dozens of people waving flags and using sirens and megaphones. Two witnesses say someone with a slingshot in the crowd broke one of the truck’s windows. In a statement, SDPD said the federal agents departed shortly after their officers arrived and officers stayed for roughly 20 minutes until the car had been towed. For the full story, go here.
Secrecy over tuberculosis causes health concern at immigration detention center in San Diego
On Monday Aug. 10, after taking legal action to conduct a health and environmental inspection of the Otay Mesa Detention Center, the County of San Diego released a report with details about the conditions at the ICE detention facility. The report found that the conditions in the facility generally met safe standards, but it did note a couple areas of concern. The first area of concern included one individual who had been admitted for months not being given a medical device they needed along with a lack of any vaccines in stock.
The second and more major area of concern was a failure to communicate properly with County Public Health to coordinate tuberculosis-related cases. In a statement, County Public Health Officer Sayone Thihalolipavan said fortunately in this instance the risk related to the cases was low, and also said a failure to communicate promptly “is a serious breach of basic public health protocol and creates unacceptable risk for detainees, staff, visitors, and the surrounding community. Unfortunately, this issue was also documented in the Attorney General’s recent report from their inspection in 2025.” For more on this story, see the Rag post, or go here or here.
San Diego Democrats rally against local, nationwide ICE Operations
In a joint effort between activists and the San Diego County Democratic Party, a rally was held outside of the Edward J Schwarz Federal Building on Thursday Aug. 13. The purpose of the rally was to condemn ongoing ICE operations. This protest named Ice Out of San Diego is part of a weekly demonstration organized by local labor and political groups including SEIU Local 221, Take Action, and Alliance San Diego.
Party officials joined the protest to speak on what they, along with their offices. are doing to address the ICE operations. This comes after a letter sent from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to Democrat congressman Mike Levin, revealed more than 16,000 people in San Diego had been removed by ICE since the day Trump took office a second time on Jan. 20, 2025 to April 1, 2026.
Officials at the protest also raised concerns over ICE’s new plan to arm agents with gloves capable of emitting electric shocks. That’s according to a DHS document released earlier this week describing the CTG-5 Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter or (G.L.O.V.E) as a “De-escalation Device which will be issued to Homeland Security Investigations (H.S.I.) and Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) officers and agents.” its estimated price range? 10 million to 20 million dollars. For the full details on the protest, go here.
