A screen capture from social media video, which was also shared during open comments at a recent Encinitas City Council meeting, shows a man being detained by an agent at an apartment complex near Quail Gardens Drive on Oct. 15 in Encinitas. (Social media image)
On the morning of Oct. 15, multiple individuals were detained by federal agents during targeted immigration enforcement at a construction site in Encinitas near Quail Gardens Drive and Encinitas Boulevard.
Video footage shows federal immigration enforcement agents pursuing a man on foot across an intersection and one man on the ground being handcuffed by multiple officers. Eyewitnesses said about 4-6 construction workers were detained by agents.
These detentions follow several similar instances in North County, which have prompted local action.
In late August, a block away from Park Dale Lane Elementary School in Encinitas, a man was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
The arrest occurred early in the morning on a Wednesday. The man, on his way to work, wore a bright orange construction vest and was the father of an Encinitas Union School District student.
In June, one family in Oceanside woke up to the sound of their windows shattering. ICE agents entered their home and handcuffed all four people inside — two of whom were underage and American citizens, and their two parents, who were in the United States without legal status.
Following these events, both Encinitas and Oceanside supported several of the same approaches to address increasing immigration enforcement.
Encinitas Deputy Mayor Joy Lyndes said that she hopes the new action will help support residents.
“We are focused on getting educated, getting information, getting transparency and building more safety across the community,” Lyndes said. “(People) want to be able to feel safe in their community and make sure their children are safe.”
Providing resources and information
Both cities have worked to provide more information to residents through “know your rights” campaigns accessible on their websites.
Encinitas Mayor Bruce Ehlers said the campaign addresses residents’ concerns about the lack of information and misinformation about enforcement.
“There were a lot of people … concerned that there was a lot of misinformation going on on both sides,” Ehlers said. “And I find (in) situations where nobody’s got the information, things get made up … and fabrications occur.”
Both cities’ websites offer information about state and federal immigration laws, how to locate individuals detained by ICE, and direct people to the San Diego County Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs.
Encinitas includes information about state Senate Bill 54, which limits local police from enforcing federal immigration law, and ways to contact ICE about concerns.
The city is also considering sending out community communications through mass text messaging.
Oceanside provides links to school resources, contacts for low-cost legal help, the Oceanside Police Department commendations and complaints form, and OPD policies for any kind of aid to immigration enforcement agencies.
In Oceanside, the Police Department will now also publish a public statement following any calls for aid from immigration enforcement agencies.
According to OPD Assistant Chief John McKean, of the 67 instances in the last year that immigration enforcement agencies have either conducted surveillance or entered the city for arrests, Oceanside police responded to the scene on two occasions. One of those instances exclusively involved American citizens.
Limiting movement
Both Encinitas and Oceanside considered approaches to limiting federal immigration enforcement agencies from accessing parts of the respective cities.
In Oceanside, immigration enforcement agencies will now be required to have a federal warrant for any action taken on city-owned or city-controlled property. It now also limits city contractors from sharing any personal information with federal agencies except when required by state or federal law.
Encinitas is looking into its legal grounds to create “safe zones,” which would limit federal immigration enforcement at schools and churches.
Immigration enforcement has been increasingly evident across North County in recent years.
Urging federal change
Both Oceanside and Encinitas acknowledged their limited power when it comes to making significant changes to local immigration enforcement.
“What we need more than anything — and that has not been addressed — is we need a path toward citizenship,” Oceanside Mayor Ester Sanchez said.
Sanchez said that while the City Council has limited power over change in how immigration enforcement is conducted in Oceanside, reform to immigration is overdue.
“I have been fighting for immigrant rights and civil rights since 1974. I have been doing this basically all my adult life,” Sanchez said, highlighting her own personal experiences as the daughter of an immigrant farmworker.
Both Oceanside and Encinitas city councils drafted letters to federal representatives urging action be taken to address the significant increase in immigration enforcement presence, to establish clearer pathways to citizenship and to communicate clearly with residents to answer questions from the community.
Both cities continue to explore what legal options are available to address changing federal immigration enforcement practices.
Teal Davis is a local freelance writer. Letters to the editor are welcome. Send them to letters[at]northcoastcurrent.com.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});