Re “San Diego council member asks Escondido to end ICE use of police training facility” (Jan. 27): Marni von Wilpert claims that “what ICE is doing across the country is fueling fear, unrest and harm and local governments shouldn’t be helping it happen,” warning that “we could be next.” This assertion ignores the facts. The Escondido training contract is over a decade old, routine and involves no joint operations. Nothing about it represents an escalation of risk.
What has changed is its political usefulness, illustrating the prioritization of political symbolism over local fiscal responsibility.
As San Diego residents absorb unrelenting fees, taxes and the consequences of reckless fiscal decisions, a City Council member running for Congress has chosen to fixate on a federal issue outside her jurisdiction that offers no relief to the people she represents.
Invoking fear to campaign on national issues while local fiscal decisions steadily erode residents’ financial stability is not leadership. It is negligence masquerading as compassion.
Who we elect matters.
— Jax Johnston, South Park