ICE

Coronavirus, Immigration May 11, 2020

Otay Mesa Detention Center experiences first detained migrant death from COVID-19

The first confirmed death in an ICE detention center from COVID-19 has been reported at Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego. Otay Mesa is run by the private, for-profit contractor, CoreCivic. A 57-year-old person in immigration custody died Wednesday, May 6 from complications related to the coronavirus, authorities said, marking the first reported death from the virus among about 30,000 people in immigration custody….

Coronavirus, Courts/Law, Immigration, The World April 4, 2020

ACLU: Release COVID-19 at-risk detainees (Updated 4/13 — Detainees released.)

Updated Monday, April 13….ACLU clients, Yusuf Ozdemir and Jane Doe, were released the night of Thursday, April 9; and Miguel Angel Benitez and Issis Yoselin Zelaya Sagastume were released the following Friday night. “Our plaintiffs’ release from custody is a victory for them and their families,” said Monika Y. Langarica, immigrants’ rights staff attorney with the ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties. “We urge ICE to continue…

Breaking News, Coronavirus, Courts/Law, Health, Health & Fitness, Immigration, News, Police/Fire, Public Policy, San Diego March 11, 2020

ACLU to ICE: Get Coronavirus act together

Today, Wednesday, March 11, the ACLU Foundation of California sent letters to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immigration detention center officials urging them to develop a comprehensive emergency plan for the prevention and management of potential Coronavirus (or COVID-19) cases at its detention centers. In the letters, the ACLU asks for written responses from ICE and other detention center officials that explain how they…

Immigration, Media, News, Public Policy, The World August 11, 2019

Support for immigration is at record highs

Among Americans that is, but the government under the Trump Administration is out of sync with their views… Since its start, the Trump administration has implemented policies to step up immigration enforcement and reduce the number of immigrants admitted into the U.S. Many of these efforts – like the border wall, the travel ban, family separations, DACA termination and detention centers – have received wide…

Escondido, Featured, Politics May 3, 2018

Abed: Wrong on immigration, wrong period

Escondido mayor Sam Abed is running for re-election as a Donald Trump Republican with his main issue, apparently, the desire to keep immigrants in a constant state of fear. This election presents a clear contrast between myself and Abed who has been running his mouth all over the county against so-called “sanctuary cities.” This supposed outrage is a ploy, a distraction from the real work…

Breaking News, Immigration, News May 1, 2018

ACLU: Deportation fear stymies crime tips

The American Civil Liberties Union released a report today that shows fear of deportation is stopping immigrants from reporting crimes and participating in court proceedings. The report, “Freezing Out Justice: How Immigration Arrests at Courthouses Are Undermining the Justice System,” is based on data from a national survey of law enforcement officers, judges, prosecutors, and others, conducted jointly by the ACLU and the National Immigrant…

California, Escondido, Immigration March 20, 2018

Rapid response network needed due to ICE

While much of the local media’s attention was focused on President Trump’s March 13 visit to the border wall prototypes in Otay Mesa, a team of ICE agents deployed throughout Escondido early the same morning and arrested 22 people. The agents were allegedly targeting people who had deportation orders, but they also picked up undocumented immigrants who just happened to be at the wrong place…

Featured, Immigration December 12, 2017

Anti-wall protestors blast police inaction

(Editor’s Note: Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-50th congressional District) and other far right-wing Trump Border Wall adherents held a rally Saturday, Dec. 9 at the Otay Mesa site of wall prototypes. At the event, right-wing activists attacked the protestors. Here is an account from protestors about the violence and police actions there. During his speech, Hunter repeated discredited claims he has made in the past that…

Immigration October 6, 2017

Central Valley farm worker deportation tango

(Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared this week in Fair Warning, a non-profit independent investigative report on safety, health and corporate conduct news. Fair Warning partners with the Local Independent Online Publishers (LION) group to which The Escondido Grapevine belongs. This article related to California immigration and agriculture is part of a story-sharing arrangement between LION and Fair Warning.) As an attorney representing California Central…

Police, Police/Fire February 21, 2017

Another DUI checkpoint with no DUI drivers

Escondido Police Department’s great reveal about its Jan. 28 DUI/Drivers License checkpoint took some reading between the lines to get the rest of the story. Nowhere in Lt. Mike Kearney’s “Sobriety Enforcement Results” was the most pertinent subject of a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint revealed in so many words. Which is to say, yet again, the sobriety enforcement roadblock yielded no DUI suspects. “Checkpoints are placed…