“Fascism advances because institutions accommodate it, because somebody decides, `It’s just a facility, it’s just cooperation, it’s just training, it’s just one agreement,'” one woman said. “And every one of these decisions makes the next one easier.”
Sidney Aki, field operations director for the U.S. CBP San Diego office, said restrictions could harm cross-border commerce, a concern echoed by at least two regional chamber of commerce officials.
“We focus on the economic engine, the commerce entering the United States,” Aki said, adding the San Diego ports of entry are the busiest in the nation.
Aki said the federal agency has exhausted commercial firearms training facilities in the region, while other ranges are too small to handle the CBP’s needs. Patricia Mondragon, of Alliance San Diego, said it’s possible to protect both immigrants and the binational economy.
“We should not allow the federal government to hold our communities hostage with longer wait times,” she added.