Board approves county 'Know Your Rights' training for businesses and workers after ICE raid video

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on July 22 directed county staff to develop and implement a "Know Your Rights" training program for small businesses and workers that would provide guidance in the event federal immigration enforcement — including ICE and other Homeland Security agencies — conducts workplace operations.

Chair Tara Lawson Reimer introduced the item and opened the meeting with a short video showing a recent federal enforcement operation at a restaurant. Lawson Reimer said the county must ensure workers and employers understand "that due process does not disappear just based on where you're born," and she described the proposed program as a means to protect workplaces, preserve jobs and reduce community harm.

The program approved by the board calls for the Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement (county office) to roll out multilingual, trauma-informed training and make materials available both in person and online. County staff said the plan will include in-person sessions and recorded trainings posted on the county website so employers and workers can access materials at their convenience. The county’s chief administrative staff said an initial version of related training has already been issued to public counters and would be reissued and extended to reach county work sites.

Supporters who addressed the board during the 21-person public comment period described firsthand fear and disruption caused by aggressive enforcement operations. Erica Castillo, a small business owner and co-chair of Advocacy at Business for Good, said businesses and workers “have shared with us the fear, confusion, trauma, and financial losses they experience when federal immigration agencies raid their workplaces,” and urged the county to include community-based organizations in developing the training.

Unions and county employees also urged training for public worksites. Casey Shirk, a county employee and SEIU Local 221 member, told the board county employees already anticipate such raids and requested multilingual resources for county workplaces as well as small businesses.

Several supervisors said they supported the training but expressed different perspectives about the underlying immigration enforcement actions. Supervisor Joel Desmond said he would not support immediate implementation without reviewing the training’s content and framed his opposition around a view that federal enforcement exists because of border policies; Desmond voted no. Supervisor Nora Vargas (noted elsewhere in public comments) was not recorded as casting a dissent on this item. The motion passed with one no vote; the clerk recorded the motion as passing with Supervisor Desmond voting no and all other supervisors present and voting aye.

Following the vote, staff confirmed the training will be made available to county employees and the county website will host materials. County staff also said they will coordinate with community-based organizations, business groups and worker advocates to ensure materials are multilingual and trauma-informed, and to expand the scope beyond ICE to include other federal entities that carry out immigration enforcement.

The board’s action directs the chief administrative officer to develop and implement the training program; staff will return to the board with implementation details. The motion does not change county law or confer new legal protections; it directs development of county-provided training and guidance.