San Diegans call for an end to ICE surveillance funding
Community members gather outside the Federal Building to condemn private companies that benefit from the recent surge of immigration arrests.
Written by Sam Barney-Gibbs, Edited by Maya Srikrishnan
“Say it loud, say it clear: immigrants are welcome here!” chanted dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the Federal Building Friday morning to protest companies that profit from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s recent swell of immigration arrests in the community.
The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action, a state-wide grassroots nonprofit that organizes for economic and racial justice, spearheaded the “ICE Out of San Diego” demonstration. Community members came together to discuss how companies like software-manufacturer Palantir benefit from ICE raids, surveillance, and militarization that affect San Diegans daily.
Teachers representing the San Diego Education Association decried the ICE arrests and attempted ICE arrests at schools across the county.
President of the San Diego Educators Association and middle school teacher Kyle Weinberg said educators have been attempting for months to shield their already under-resourced schools from ICE, citing the recent school zone arrests in Chula Vista and Encinitas.
“The integrity of our schools is at risk,” Weinberg said. “The federal administration is attacking public schools, attacking our immigrant communities and attacking democracy.”
That taxpayer money, he said, should be put toward feeding hungry students, helping low-income families afford college and hiring more special education teachers.
“This (is) about billionaires profiting from deportations while our children and our schools get the bare minimum,” Weinberg said. “This fully funded deportation machine is making money for millionaire tech companies.”
Seth Hall, who co-founded San Diego Privacy — which aims to analyze and change surveillance habits in the county — pointed out the security cameras posted on street lights surrounding the group. He said the cameras feed data into Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel’s information systems. San Diego doesn’t need a billionaire-funded surveillance state to keep the city safe, he said.
“The reality is that safety is not when someone watches you through a camera and then dispatches somebody with a gun after something bad has already happened,” Hall said. “That's not safety for our neighborhoods. That's not safety for our families. We keep us safe.”
He wishes city leadership would divest from Palantir, but officials consistently vote to continue funding the company. He said he hopes there will be a point where people will join together enough where the city listens and divests from the company.
This, Hall said, would send a message to the rest of the country that major cities don’t want continued investments in systems that oppress and violate people’s lives.
To help in building this common voice, he urged San Diegans to connect more deeply with their local community organizations.
Shanika Lazo — a member of the Filipino left-wing youth organization, Anakbayan, and Filipino migrants rights movement Tangoll Migrante — has been following the deportation journeys of two families they met through local and national organizing work.
They said a heartbreaking part of this work is learning how alone people facing ICE, detention, and deportation feel. The news coverage and public discourse, Lazo said, is too impersonal and they hope to help change that by speaking at events like this.
“It’s very important to share their stories, because all these people that are facing these attacks are too scared,” Lazo said. “If we don’t come together, then the attacks will be all the more devastating.”
