There is no reason why local tax dollars should ever fund facilities that help the ICE Gestapo and CBP goons get better at terrorizing our communities. Thankfully, local organizers just secured a massive victory on this exact front.
In a crucial 3-2 vote on Tuesday, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors officially approved a policy to ban federal immigration enforcement agencies from utilizing county facilities for firearms training. Driven by immense public pressure and spearheaded by Supervisors Paloma Aguirre and Terra Lawson-Remer, this decision cuts off a major resource for mass deportation agendas.
For years, agencies like ICE and CBP have quietly held contracts to use local sites like the San Diego Regional Firearm Training Center in Otay Mesa and the Miramar Firearm Training Center. These agreements allowed federal agents to hone their lethal skills using infrastructure paid for by the very communities they actively target and terrorize.
The ban means these license agreements will be terminated 10 days after the federal government receives notice. San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez has already confirmed that she notified ICE officials they are permanently cut off from using sheriff’s facilities for their firearms qualifications and training.
Unsurprisingly, Republican Supervisors Jim Desmond and Joel Anderson voted against the measure, prioritizing the comfort of federal agents over the concerns of local residents. But the people won out. By cutting off access to these local firing ranges, San Diego is sending a clear message: we will not be complicit in the militarization of deportation forces.
For more context on the board’s decision and the community pushback, check out this local news coverage:
