San Diego County Ends Training Agreements with Immigration Agencies

San Diego County will halt longstanding agreements that allowed federal immigration authorities to train at local firing ranges. County supervisors made the decision on Tuesday, voting 3-2 to terminate contracts with both Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). These agencies previously trained at facilities near the Mexican border and a Navy site leased by the county.

Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe, who supported ending the contracts, stated, Federal immigration agents have harmed our communities many different ways here locally and throughout the nation. We just don’t want to be complicit in that.

Following the vote, San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez indicated that ICE would no longer have access to county facilities. She emphasized that she reached this conclusion after carefully considering community concerns related to ICE’s actions elsewhere in the country. However, she still permits CBP to use a county facility, creating a potential conflict with the elected supervisors.

Martinez defended CBP’s efforts in managing border crime and facilitating trade and travel, stating, Too many people on both sides of the border would be harmed by a decision to end CBP’s use of the facility. As Sheriff, I have a duty to protect and serve everyone who lives in or enters San Diego County.

The decision by the supervisors came after significant resident pressure to cease support for policies linked to the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration measures. Critics argue these policies have caused family separations and violent encounters between federal agents and community residents.

In contrast, Supervisor Jim Desmond, who opposed ending the contracts, believes that collaboration and joint training among law enforcement agencies are essential. He remarked, ICE has overreached and overstepped, but how do you fix that? You fix it with more training.

Rodney Scott from CBP highlighted the crucial role the firing range plays in training 1,700 officers annually. He warned that without this resource, officer training would have to occur elsewhere, potentially impacting local staffing and border operations.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors’ decision is considered unprecedented in its potential impact on border security. This agreement has been active since 2017 for CBP and 2021 for ICE. A letter from the supervisors indicated that federal agents had accumulated over 3,300 training hours since 2024.

San Diego seeks to maintain and foster trust within its immigrant communities. Officials have worked to separate local police activities from federal immigration enforcement. The termination of these contracts aligns with these goals, emphasizing community safety and accountability.

Terra Lawson-Remer, the board’s chair and a proponent of ending the agreements, said, Our community is a home, not a target. If the Trump administration wants to spend billions on this law and deportation agenda, they can use their own federal resources to carry it out.