New posts: Media from ICE Rally, Call for ICE Moratorium on Sept. 30
Time to Resist: Stop the ICE Contract, September 30th 4PM
OPPOSITION TO ESCONDIDO AGREEMENT WITH ICE GROWS,
AS INTERNAL EMAILS REVEAL TIES TO MINNEAPOLIS RAIDS
unity coalition calls on Mayor & Police Chief to commit to NO business with ICE,
"we need a moratorium... a serious commitment to end this crisis"
Find footage here, and coverage here
Escondido, Calif. - On Thursday morning, a broad-based coalition of neighborhood, labor, and civil rights groups rallied at City Hall, calling for an end to the city's contract with ICE, and sharing new information obtained about the controversial firing range agreement with ICE. Residents invited the public to demand answers and accountability at the next City Council meeting on Wed, September 30th.
Groups called on Mayor Dane White and Police Chief Ken Plunkett to make clear that the city would not be entering into any agreement with ICE, now or after the election in November.
"We need our elected leaders to show care for our residents and actually take action necessary to protect us. We need a moratorium on any such business with ICE, a serious commitment to end this crisis. And we are calling on the Mayor and Council to do the right thing, you owe it to our community," said Laura Hunter of Escondido Indivisible. "Residents have had enough of the fear and terror and we cannot give up. Our conscience will not allow us to stop advocating until we have done what we can to protect our neighbors."
Recently reviewed documents obtained through a Public Records Act request reveal that Escondido residents were right to be concerned. The documents reveal that ICE agents utilizing the Escondido firing range were part of the deployments to Los Angeles in June of 2025, and to Minneapolis in January of 2026.
Other internal emails confirmed that Police Chief Ken Plunkett signed the agreement with ICE only seven days after the murder of Ms. Renee Nicole Good, as thousands protested in cities across the country, including Escondido and San Diego. One internal text message seems to signal some officers knew the controversial agreement should not be made public. More information about the revelations, the documents of interest, and links to all of the PRA disclosures can be found here.
"These revelations raise more questions and concerns, and I hope that the Mayor and Chief, and perhaps Council Members Joe Garcia and Christian Garcia, would stop obfuscating the issue. The documents do confirm what Escondido residents have been saying all along, that this business with ICE enables the violence that we have all seen taking place," said Salvador G. Sarmiento, an attorney with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON).
Importantly, recent comments by Council Members suggest that HSI is separate and apart from ICE. To be clear, HSI is part of ICE and HSI agents have been recorded abducting people and wantonly destroying property in Escondido.
Over 100 residents from Escondido and surrounding communities across San Diego County attended the rally and press conference. The activity was hosted by Indivisible Escondido, Escondido North County San Diego, and the county-wide ICE OUT OF SAN DIEGO Coalition, which includes groups from across North County and SD County, such as Universidad Popular, San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium, Indivisible San Diego, SEIU-221, AFSC, Alliance San Diego, and many more groups from across the County. Attendees made clear they would be returning, and that the contract needed to end.
"We told the Mayor in January and February, we want this contract to end. We cannot have our city enabling this violence. And we aren't going away," said Maria Wallace, a 30-year Escondido resident. "Today, we don't know what ICE or Donald Trump will do tomorrow, but we do have power here locally, and we should demand our local officials to be accountable and responsive. Today, that means showing some courage and ending the contract."