Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested nearly 2,000 people in San Diego and Imperial counties in July, the highest monthly total recorded during President Donald Trump’s second term, according to data from the Data Deportation Project, a research initiative involving UCLA and UC Berkeley.
The July total represented an increase of about 50% from the previous month. The Data Deportation Project also found that a majority of those arrested nationwide during the period had no criminal record.
The increase in arrests has drawn renewed attention from local immigrant-rights advocates and community members.
Dozens of people gathered Wednesday in Linda Vista for a procession called “Nuestras Calles,” or “Our Streets,” organized to raise awareness about immigration arrests and detentions.
Participants also remembered Cesar, a 26-year-old local father who was detained in a Linda Vista park in April, later deported, and subsequently died.
Father Scott Santa Rosa, who participated in the event, said organizers wanted to draw attention to ongoing immigration enforcement and encourage people who oppose the policies to speak out.
The local increase comes amid a broader rise in immigration arrests nationwide. According to the Data Deportation Project, ICE made nearly 50,000 arrests across the United States in July, about 15% more than in June.
Immigration enforcement activity has also been reported in San Diego County outside of ICE operations.
Last Thursday, community members in Encinitas recorded video of what appeared to be armed federal agents, accompanied by a canine, making an arrest near a shopping center off Leucadia Boulevard. Witnesses said one agent appeared to be wearing a uniform marked “BORTAC,” referring to the Border Patrol Tactical Unit within U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Several witnesses who spoke about the incident asked not to be identified, saying they were concerned about possible retaliation. One described the operation as aggressive and said seeing federal agents conducting an operation in the community was alarming.
News 8 contacted ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection multiple times for additional information about the Encinitas enforcement action, but has not yet received a response.
Nationwide, Texas and Florida accounted for nearly 20,000 of the approximately 50,000 ICE arrests recorded in July. Both states have entered into agreements with ICE that allow participating state and local law enforcement agencies to assist with federal immigration enforcement.
California generally has more limited cooperation between state and local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities because of state laws restricting such cooperation.