North County Report: An Unexpected Push for Federal Immigration Reform

Two North County cities with Republican-majority City Councils are calling for federal immigration reform, though the two took slightly different approaches. 

As arrests by immigration officials continue to ramp up throughout the region, city leaders in Escondido and Encinitas recently decided to take a stand against the enforcement.  

Encinitas leaders approved a slew of actions after a passionate Council discussion, including launching a “Know Your Rights” campaign, exploring the banning of face masks worn by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and potentially joining lawsuits with other cities challenging ICE operations.  

Escondido took a more conservative approach. City leaders sent a “bipartisan” letter to the San Diego County congressional delegation encouraging them to support things like clearer pathways to legal citizenship and increased resources for border security and immigration court systems. 

The actions by the two councils come in the wake of more visible immigration enforcement, including public arrests by masked ICE agents that have caused outrage and fear among many residents. 

I previously reported that there’s been an increase in ICE arrests in North County this year compared to last year, with Escondido seeing the highest rate of ICE arrests out of all North County cities. Data also shows that ICE agents are increasingly arresting people who don’t have any criminal convictions or charges.  

Encinitas 

Outcry over immigration enforcement has been building in Encinitas in recent weeks following a string of ICE arrests. Things came to a head when a parent was arrested by ICE agents near his child’s school. 

A video of the arrest, which spread quickly on social media, shows a man, who is the parent of a child in the Encinitas Union School District, being taken into an unmarked vehicle by federal agents, at least one of which had his face covered with a mask. 

The man’s wife and daughter were at the scene while he was being taken into custody, as well as other children. Nearby witnesses can be heard in the video asking to see an arrest warrant, but the agents don’t appear to have presented one. 

The incident prompted the Encinitas City Council to discuss immigration enforcement at an Aug. 20 City Council meeting. The council chambers overflowed with residents, with dozens speaking out against recent ICE actions, saying agents are creating fear in the community and impeding people’s rights. 

The City Council, made up of mostly Republican or Republican-endorsed councilmembers, unanimously approved a slew of actions: 

• Launching a “Know Your Rights” campaign in collaboration with schools, churches and nonprofits to help people know how to deal with immigration officers.  
• Explore whether the city can create safe zones around schools and churches where immigration enforcement would not be allowed. 
• Submit a federal Freedom of Information Act request to understand details of immigration enforcement actions in Encinitas. 
• Explore the possibility of joining lawsuits by other cities against ICE actions. 
• Send letters to federal officials protesting the recent actions and demanding an explanation of recent ICE actions. 
• Look into the possibility of banning face coverings by ICE agents. 
• A community communication system that alerts people of ICE activity. 

“This is taking away our innocence and our feeling of safety, and I mean our entire community… no matter what skin color, what nationality, what citizenship – we all live here, we all have to feel safe,” Encinitas Mayor Bruce Ehlers said. “This is just the first step.”  

Escondido 

In Escondido, Councilmember Christian Garcia and Mayor Dane White raised the idea of sending a letter to U.S. congressional Reps. Darrell Issa, Mike Levin, Sara Jacobs, Scott Peters and Juan Vargas asking for immigration reform. 

The letter explains that the current system’s “dysfunction” is creating public safety concerns, economic uncertainty, administrative burden and is eroding public trust. It calls for solutions that address concerns “across the political spectrum”: 

• Clearer criteria and timelines for people seeking citizenship. 
• The creation of guest worker programs that address seasonal labor needs. 
• Increased resources for border security infrastructure and immigration court systems. 
• Clear federal guidelines that distinguish the responsibilities of local public safety and federal immigration enforcement. 
• Promoting bipartisan dialogue. 

“When enforcement began the priority was to remove those with serious criminal convictions,” White said during an Aug. 13 meeting. “Today that focus, at least in some places, has been replaced with an indiscriminate approach that fuels uncertainty, fear and chaos nationwide. This is neither fair nor practical.” 

Garcia said the letter is “intentionally and deliberately bipartisan,” but Deputy Mayor Consuelo Martinez took some issue with its vagueness, asking that an amendment be added to prohibit ICE agents from wearing face coverings. The other councilmembers, though, didn’t agree to her amendment because it could be too divisive. 

A few public speakers, although they were in support of the letter, said it could’ve gone a step further. One speaker suggested additions including barring face masks for ICE agents, making it clear that local police will not be pressured to cooperate with ICE agents and urging ICE agents to refrain from racial profiling. 

But Garcia and White maintained that it wouldn’t be wise to add specific demands. 

“I think the point of the letter is not to be specific, it’s to encourage them to do something,” White said. “When you start putting in specifics… you limit the amount of support this is going to have moving forward.” 

Martinez also noted that she disagrees with the letter’s request to increase resources for border security. 

The council, made up of four Republicans and one Democrat (Martinez), ultimately approved the letter 4-0-1, with Councilmember July Fitzgerald abstained. Fitzgerald said she believes most of the items being requested in the letter have already been answered and addressed by the government. 

Around Town: Oceanside Will Consider Rent Stabilization Policy 

The city of Oceanside will consider a rent stabilization and tenant protections ordinance next week that, if passed, would be the first of its kind in San Diego County. 

The proposed policy would set a cap on annual rent increases at 5 percent for all multi-family housing built before Feb. 1, 1995. That’s lower than the current state law maximum of 10 percent. 

It also includes relocation assistance for no-fault evictions, equal access to legal representation for tenants facing eviction and more. 

The proposals aim to address rising displacement rates in the region. I recently wrote about the increasing rate of working-class people being displaced from North County due to high cost of living. Read that story here. 

In Other News 

• A new shelter for homeless young adults is now open in Vista, becoming the first in North County dedicated to homeless youth. The shelter is run by Urban Street Angels. (Union-Tribune) 
• Escondido leaders praised homeless services nonprofit Interfaith Community Services for complying with new terms that city leaders established earlier this year aimed at minimizing the impacts of homelessness on surrounding neighborhoods. (Coast News) Related: Interfaith leaders and Escondido officials were at odds for months over how the nonprofit was serving the city’s homeless residents. But earlier this year, the two entities started repairing their relationship. Read that story here. (Voice of San Diego) 
• Speaking of Escondido, city leaders recently approved a $56 million infrastructure overhaul that aims to modernize its aging energy infrastructure. The plan is expected to save the city more than $83 million in the long-term. (Coast News) 

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