Newsletter: Why are San Diego police showing up during ICE arrests?
Plus, kids win money for City Heights park improvements and what to do this weekend for Pride.
Greetings, everyone! Buenas and bom dia,
Before we get into this week's news, a quick reminder that we are hosting a launch party on Aug. 14 at Queen Bee's in North Park, and we would love to celebrate with you. Reserve your tickets today.
As Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and other officials working with them continue to make arrests across San Diego County, another law enforcement agency is appearing at some of their operations — the San Diego Police Department.
As recently as Tuesday, San Diegans who went to witness and document ICE activity in Mission Bay reported San Diego police presence at the scene. San Diego police said officers were providing traffic control after a request for assistance from federal agents.
When community members protested as ICE arrested workers at Buona Forchetta in South Park in May, San Diego police showed up. And, when ICE arrested three U.S. citizens in Linda Vista in early July, San Diego police stood at a perimeter set up around the federal agents.
On Wednesday, community members in Oceanside panicked when they saw what was actually a joint training exercise with Oceanside Police Department and other law enforcement agencies, according to a social media post from Human Rights Council of Oceanside. The Oceanside Police Department did not answer a call to its media line.
“I think folks are starting to equate them as one and the same because there are these real examples where they are actively working together,” said Homayra Yusufi, deputy director at the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans.
That kind of cooperation with federal immigration enforcement officials leads to fear in the community, which means people don't call the police when they are witnesses or victims of a crime, Yusufi said.
“They look like they're providing security for ICE,” said Erin Tsurumoto Grassi, policy director at Alliance San Diego. “While they're not making immigration arrests, we do have to ask the question of the way that the resources of the agency are being used here, is that the right decision. Is it going to build trust with the community? No it doesn't.”
A series of state laws govern the ways that local law enforcement can interact with federal immigration officials. The most recent, and most restrictive, is known as S.B. 54 or the California Values Act.
That law limits, in particular, a local police agency's ability to hand off someone in its custody to ICE. It also says that local police shall not investigate, interrogate, detain, detect or arrest people for immigration enforcement purposes nor assist immigration authorities in those activities.
Lt. Travis Easter said that the department follows state laws and sent a link to its policy document.
“Our officers can provide emergency assistance as we would for all law enforcement agencies to protect public safety,” Easter said. “Our officers’ focus is on detecting and apprehending individuals involved in criminal activity. We are not looking for violations of immigration laws.”
Tsurumoto Grassi questioned whether, with the city of San Diego's budget shortfall, and ICE's recent budget increase from Congress, the police department should be using any of its resources to show up for ICE.
“They're making ICE's job easier. They're making it so they're able to do immigration enforcement with less officers,” Tsurumoto Grassi said. “If they weren't there, they would need to call more of their officers in to control the perimeter.”
She said there could be a legal argument that the police are in violation of S.B. 54.
“It's a gray area,” she said. “They're dancing on a line that they shouldn't be dancing on.”
The police presence in Linda Vista and South Park felt particularly troublesome to Tsurumoto Grassi because of the force used by federal officials against onlookers while San Diego officers looked on. In South Park, officials used flash bangs to try to disperse people in the street while in Linda Vista agents injured at least one person, whom they brought forcefully to the ground during the arrest.
“They're watching, but they're not doing anything. You have to ask, ‘Is that complicity?’” Tsurumoto Grassi said. “Who are they actually defending in these cases? Are you defending San Diegans or are you defending ICE? We would argue their responsibility is to protect San Diegans.”
Easter declined to comment about the federal agents’ use of force in Linda Vista.
“Homeland Security Investigations is a federal law enforcement agency with its own policies and procedures concerning the use of force,” Easter said, using the name of one of the sub-agencies within ICE.
Yusufi said that the language of S.B. 54 feels dated given ICE's current tactics.
“S.B. 54 was written for a different time,” Yusufi said. “We need our local police department to respond to our current time when ICE is literally abducting our community members in the most horrible ways.”
Yusufi and Tsurumoto Grassi both said they were concerned about other ways in which local police cooperate or have cooperated with ICE and Customs and Border Protection, including participating on task forces or even sharing data through automated license plate readers. They called for more transparency from the department about the extent of its involvement with the federal agencies.
Councilmember Sean Elo Rivera recently said that he would propose an ordinance to clarify what San Diego police should do in these situations. His office did not answer questions about how community members can participate in that discussion in time for this newsletter.
Several of those arrested in Linda Vista had preliminary hearings today in federal court. In a matter of minutes, the judge continued their cases to future dates.
— Kate Morrissey
Youth win funding to improve park
An advocacy group made up of mostly high school students got the city of San Diego to commit to funding an improvement project for a City Heights park. The city had already awarded $1.75 million to the children's vision for Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park in prior years, and with Youth Council's pressure, the city added another $2.5 million into this year's budget to fully fund the improvements.
— Marco Guajardo and Lauren J. Mapp
When President Donald Trump came into office, he shut down asylum processing. What remained for those who crossed the border was a much more difficult screening process that left many deported. And, many of those who managed to pass haven't been able to access protection in the United States.
— Kate Morrissey, for Capital & Main
Between San Diego Pride in Hillcrest and the Filipino American Friendship Festival in Liberty Station, there’s lots to do this weekend in San Diego. Plus, there’s a No More Markets free swap at Morley Field and an afternoon Blanket Sounds concert at Waterfront Park.
— Lauren J. Mapp
Other news
Enrollment at San Diego County public schools is shrinking, Voice of San Diego reported. Over the past decade, the number of students has decreased by about 5%.
San Diego residents need to select the sizes of their new trash bins by the end of September, KPBS reported. The cans come in three different sizes at three corresponding costs.
Border Patrol agents are citing immigrants for not carrying their paperwork with them at an increasing rate, inewsource reported. That includes green card holders, guest workers and students.
For Voice of San Diego, our co-founders Brittany and Kate traveled out to Campo to see what the military was doing at the border. They learned that troops have finished putting up concertina wire in the areas identified as priority.
Upcoming Events
July 17
Good Trouble Lives On Protest: Local activists are leading a continuation of June’s No Kings movement with a protest at Waterfront Park. The national protest date honors Rep. John Lewis, an American civil rights activist and politician who died on July 17, 2020. 5-8 p.m., Waterfront Park, 1600 Pacific Hwy, San Diego, CA 92101
July 18
Spirit of Stonewall Rally: This free rally is open to the public and will honor LGBTQ+ leaders and activists, featuring awards, speeches and the ceremonial raising of the Pride flag. 6 p.m., Hillcrest, 1600 University Ave., San Diego, CA 92103
Teen-Versionary Performances: At the Diversionary Theatre in University Heights, a collaborative theater program led by teens ages 13 to 18 explores queer themes and identity July 18-20. Performance times are at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, and at 3 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. See website for the schedule or call the box office at (619) 220-0097. 4545 Park Blvd., Suite 101, San Diego, CA 92116
July 19
San Diego Pride Festival: San Diego Pride’s main two-day festival has multiple entertainment stages, community resources and a Queer Locals Marketplace in Balboa Park. R&B singer Kehlani will headline Saturday’s performances and German pop singer Kimpetras will headline Sunday. Tickets available online. July 19: 12 to 10 p.m. July 20: 12 to 9 p.m., Balboa Park, Sixth Avenue and Laurel Street, San Diego, CA 92103
July 20
No More Markets Free Swap: Join No More Markets for a free swap event at Morley Field. Participants can swap anything they like, including clothing, tools, art or skillshare, and organizers ask that attendees take home anything they don't end up trading. Jacaranda Place and Arnold Avenue, San Diego, CA 92104
Blanket Sounds: Grab a blanket and some buddies to head down to Waterfront Park for the SD Melanin summer Blanket Sounds series. The free event features live musical performances, DJ sets, activities for kids and local vendors. Reserve a spot online for free. 3-7 p.m., Waterfront Park, 1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92101
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