In San Diego, California, the effects of President Donald Trump’s second term are felt sharply, particularly among immigrant communities, as the administration intensifies its mass deportation campaigns.
With over a quarter of its population—approximately 344,000 residents—being foreign-born, San Diego has become a focal point for immigration enforcement actions.
Since the beginning of the year, the city’s immigrant population has faced significant militarized raids, stirring public outrage and protests across the community.
These operations, which utilize not only Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) but also other federal agencies such as Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and even local military resources, have taken on an increasingly aggressive and violent character.
Pressure from the Trump administration has led ICE agents to pursue daily arrest quotas, abandoning the narrative of targeting only “criminal” elements.
Instead, raids now occur in areas frequented by families and workers, such as schools and job sites.
One such incident on August 7 saw the arrest of Kyungjin Yu, a South Korean immigrant with no criminal history, who was taken by ICE during a routine school drop-off, leaving her children in distress.
This event reflects a disturbing trend as ICE increasingly makes arrests in locations that were previously considered safe havens, including hospitals and churches.
In another instance, several workers were detained at a Home Depot in Encinitas, California, leading to community backlash as residents confronted agents over their tactics.
Commenting on the situation, a local resident expressed concern about the presence of armed federal agents in civilian areas, citing a general fear and lack of ethical enforcement.
Other confrontations have occurred, such as the detention of 71-year-old Barbara Stone at the San Diego Immigration Courthouse, where she was handcuffed for allegedly pushing an ICE agent while documenting arrests.
This marked a shift in policy, as operations at courthouses began in late May, seemingly aimed at hastening the substantial daily arrest quotas imposed by senior advisor Stephen Miller.
Notably, on May 22, a preemptive operation involving 20 ICE agents resulted in multiple arrests at a local immigration courthouse, drawing criticism from the public and advocates.
Most troubling among the recent developments occurred on May 30, when heavily armed ICE agents, clad in military-style gear, detained four workers from an Italian restaurant in South Park, prompting immediate outrage from the community.
Those apprehended are often sent to the Otay Mesa Detention Center, a for-profit facility operated by CoreCivic, where detainees have reported unsanitary and overcrowded conditions, being held incommunicado for weeks on end.
In a stark reality, ICE records reveal that a significant number of detainees at Otay Mesa are classified as noncriminals—with 954 of 1,104 men and 241 of 258 women fitting that description.
Despite the nature of these detentions, the impact on the immigrant population in San Diego, and by extension, the entire nation, is profound and indicative of wider trends.
Spanish-speaking asylum seekers and immigrants have rallied against these ongoing attacks, including a significant protest in June that drew over 60,000 participants to express their dissent.
The political landscape in California, traditionally a stronghold for the Democratic Party, showcases an alarming lack of organized opposition to these actions.
Democratic leaders at both the state and local levels have remained largely silent in the face of ICE’s militaristic tactics against immigrants.
The complicity extends to organized labor, with trade unions failing to mobilize their members despite the raids specifically targeting workers.
Calls from union leaders have yielded little action, with symbolic protests intertwined with appeals to the Democratic Party as a strategy to address the crises.
Prominent among these cases is the lack of targeted responses to the arrests of union members, such as SEIU President David Huerta’s detention during a raid in Los Angeles or the recent violent intrusions on farms in Southern California.
Instead of taking significant collective action or organizing work stoppages, union bureaucracies have issued empty denunciations of Trump’s policies without following through on mobilization efforts.
As community emotions run high over the treatment of immigrant workers, SEIU’s Christian Ramirez has highlighted the need for concerted action, yet progressives have failed to unify in response to these crises.
In short, the situation in San Diego crystallizes a significantly wider issue affecting immigrant rights across the nation.
The ongoing attacks signify a broader class struggle, reflecting the interests of the working class at large in the face of mounting authoritarianism by those in power.
The reluctance of both the Democratic Party and trade unions to seriously confront this onslaught reveals a deep-seated connection to their own class interests, as they navigate a political landscape increasingly polarized by issues of immigration and workers’ rights.
As the environment grows more hostile for immigrants, the need for tangible defense against these measures becomes ever more pressing, demanding solidarity across all working-class communities.
image source from：wsws
