ESCONDIDO, Calif. — In Escondido, a Southern California city of around 150,000 residents, the training of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers at a local shooting range went largely unnoticed for over a decade. This changed due to President Trump’s stricter immigration policies and the recent deadly incident involving a federal officer and a U.S. citizen.
This local agreement has ignited weeks of demonstrations, as residents are urging the city to halt allowing ICE officers to use the facilities at police station outposts. It’s a reflection of the increasing discontent nationwide regarding the government’s approach to immigration enforcement.
“I don’t want ICE around here at all; I don’t want them cozying up to the police,” Richard Garner, 71, stated while protesting in front of the police station.
An overwhelming majority of Americans, according to a recent poll, believe that President Trump has gone “too far” with federal immigration agents operating in American cities.
From Minneapolis to New York and California, people are rallying against various long-standing contracts between ICE and local governments. These contracts cover everything from utilizing training facilities to securing parking spaces. Additionally, communities are upset about ICE’s plans to take control of a warehouse intended for detaining up to 10,000 immigrants.
In light of these developments, funding for the Department of Homeland Security has been temporarily suspended.
Democratic lawmakers have expressed that they won’t support further funding without new restrictions on the federal immigration efforts, particularly after recent fatal incidents involving American citizens.
The Escondido City Council is set to review its contract with ICE during a meeting on Wednesday.
Immigration and police
Escondido has historically enjoyed a close working relationship with ICE, allowing their agents to collaborate directly with police and to conduct vehicle stops. However, this partnership drew to a close in 2017 when a state law was enacted to limit such collaborations.
Many demonstrators in Escondido were unaware of the agreement permitting ICE to train at the city’s shooting range until they discovered it online. They voiced concerns that such terms might deter immigrants from reporting crimes, thereby endangering public safety, especially since Latinos constitute nearly half of the city’s population.
There’s a significant sentiment against giving ICE agents any reason to intrude into communities or lend support to an agency that many feel doesn’t comply with U.S. laws. Rising anxiety about the “use of deadly force” by federal immigration officials, who sometimes operate in disguise, adds to their concerns.
Police Lieutenant Eric Wisolt noted that Escondido allows ICE to use the shooting range under a contract renewed this year, but ICE had been training at an outdoor site for over ten years. The city has a contract with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division, bringing in $22,500 annually for up to three years.
However, Wisolt emphasized that the local police do not conduct training with ICE or provide them any form of training assistance. Instead, the range accommodates 22 different agencies, each bringing their own equipment.
While the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, refrained from addressing the public pushback, it did not disclose alternative training locations for safety reasons.
Unfortunately for local residents, as discussions continue, these arrangements with ICE have come to light, sparking further demands for an end to these agreements.
Discussions in other communities
In Cottage Grove, Minnesota, residents, including Ruth Jones, are urging local authorities to terminate a contract that lets ICE use a regional training center. Yet, Mayor Myron Bailey countered that the center was funded through state bonds and is rented to numerous law enforcement entities, including ICE.
In New York, local officials received requests last year to end a long-term contract permitting ICE to use a rifle range for training, but they opted to maintain the agreement. Meanwhile, Connecticut has moved to cease a contract allowing ICE to use city-owned parking spaces.
Some residents in Escondido do support the contract with ICE. Luke Beckwith, 26, for instance, argued that police should be given the resources needed.
“I personally don’t mind,” Beckwith remarked. “It’s revenue for the city.”
Conversely, Edgar, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, requested to keep his last name private due to deportation fears. He mentioned that keeping ICE out of the range wouldn’t stop them from coming if they choose to do so.
