One person was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents near San Diego City College Tuesday, while another person was pursued by agents onto the campus, according to the San Diego Community College District.
At around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, ICE agents in unmarked vehicles stopped a vehicle near the intersection of 16th and C streets, according to district officials. The driver was taken into custody, while the passenger fled onto the campus.
SDCCD officials said the passenger is a San Diego City College student, while the arrested driver is believed to be a City College student.
District officials said the pursuing ICE agents “quickly stopped as they recognized they were entering a college campus. The agents went back to their vehicles and left. ICE is no longer in the area and did not engage with anyone else on campus.”
What led to the vehicle stop and arrest is unknown. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SDCCD said it is “providing support” to the passenger, but “due to the sensitive nature of this matter, no additional details will be shared about the impacted individuals.”
SDCCD said in a statement, “This intrusion by law enforcement is both disruptive, unwelcome, and in conflict with the SDCCD’s core values. City College and the SDCCD are reaching out with counseling and legal services to support students and employees who were affected by this activity. The safety and wellbeing of students and employees will always be the district’s highest priority, and we remain committed to maintaining access to all members of our community.”
The campus’ police department had no interaction with the ICE agents, nor did they provide any assistance to ICE, per a district policy prohibiting its participation in immigration enforcement activities, according to SDCCD, which said the ICE agents left the campus “before any district representative could engage with them.”
The incident also did not lead to any campus closure and classes were continuing as scheduled.