Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Immigration Enforcement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
El Cajon police say they did not work with ICE after community reports of a raid; officials urge residents to report incidents
Summary
Residents described an alleged ICE attempt and video evidence; the police chief and city manager told council members ICE was not in El Cajon that day, and the police department said it does not deputize officers to act as ICE agents under SB 54.
Several residents raised alarms at the May 27 El Cajon City Council meeting about what they described as an attempted immigration enforcement incident involving an elderly couple. Community members said video evidence exists showing people trying to force entry at a trailer park and that a drone and officers later arrived.
Mayor Wells and City Manager Graham asked Police Chief (name not provided) to brief the council. The chief said the department responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle that had a connection to a registered sex offender and that El Cajon police did not coordinate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the response. “ICE was not in our community that day,” the chief said. “We do not call ICE. We do not call the IRS. We respond to and we prevent crime in the city of El Cajon regardless of who’s involved.”
The chief told council that federal partners — ICE, DHS, FBI and DEA — inform local agencies when they are in the city, and that the police department had received no notifications in the prior four to six weeks of federal activity in El Cajon. The chief also said the department is not deputizing officers to act as ICE agents and cited SB 54 as limiting local involvement.
Councilmembers encouraged residents to report incidents directly to police and to ask the department whether activity in a neighborhood is occurring. “If anyone in the city feels unsafe, they should call the police and say, is this a reason to be unsafe in the city?” Councilmember Steve Goble said. City staff offered to provide a contact within the police department for residents seeking real-time confirmation of activity.
Why it matters: Several people at the meeting said they feared immigration enforcement actions and that social media rumors had raised alarm. City officials said confusion and hearsay can create fear and that direct communication with the police is the quickest way to confirm whether federal enforcement is occurring.
No formal action was taken; councilmembers requested clearer communication lines to the public and asked staff and police to continue outreach.
