The sun had barely risen, casting a pale, hesitant light over a land that seemed unsure of itself, when the news came down like a hammer on an old anvil. The announcement wasn’t made with fanfare, nor with the solemnity one might expect from something so grave. No, it was delivered with the cold efficiency of machinery, as if humanity were an afterthought in the…
San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez is a politician dressed in a badge, pretending to uphold the law while peddling fear and dodging accountability. On Tuesday, in a move as predictable as the sunrise, she declared herself above the will of the people she supposedly serves, all in the name of bending the knee to ICE—Trump’s personal deportation squad. San Diego County supervisors made their…
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….
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
(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…