For Immediate Release 
March 5, 2026
Contact:  Salvador G, sgsarmiento@ndlon.org 

Reaction to Ouster of DHS Secretary Noem 

Escondido, CA.  In response to reports that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is being removed from her role as Secretary of DHS, groups in Escondido and San Diego released the following statements.  

“The public outcry against ICE and DHS is widespread and warranted. That is why Kristi Noem is out.  It is alarming that Escondido Mayor White and Council Members Joe Garcia and Christian Garcia are so adamant about supporting ICE and using city facilities to do it,” said Simon Guzman, organizer for the North County-based Sowing Seeds of Dignity coalition. 

“It's a minor step to remove Noem, when the entire infrastructure of abuse and Stephen Miller remain in place.  The public has been quite clear:  We don't want ICE in our communities, we don’t want our cities to enable their abuses.  In Escondido, that means cancel that contract,” said SG Sarmiento, attorney and campaign director at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON). 

“It's not complicated.  It's about accountability.  And that must happen at all levels of government.  Today, our city has a role to play,” said Laura Hunter, an organizer with Escondido Indivisible.  “We cannot have our city, our taxes, or resources, enabling the abuses we've witnessed over the past year. We will continue to call on our Escondido leaders to stop facilitating ICE in our community.” 

“Today’s firing of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem shows exactly how much trouble that agency is in.  The message that this should send to the four Escondido elected officials is that the hundreds of residents who showed up to oppose this contract on February 25th, and the tens of thousands more Escondido residents who feel the same way were right,” said Richard Cannon, an organizer with 50501 North County San Diego.  “It is time for these Councilmembers to stand up for what is right for our community and not fail to act out of fear.”

Background.  

On February 25, the Escondido Mayor and Council Members Joe Garcia, Christian Garcia, and Judy Fitzgerald ignored a packed chamber, overflow room, and over 150 residents chanting outside, to continue to contract with ICE and allow use of the city-owned firing range. 

Meanwhile, Congress has refused to fund ICE and CBP in response to the grave abuses documented over the past month.  In the past week, even GOP senators have acknowledged the extent of abuse and corruption taking place at DHS, and public opinion has shifted a great deal, now overwhelmingly supporting structural reforms and defunding of ICE and Border Patrol.  

###