SAN DIEGO, CA — The San Diego County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a policy banning federal immigration enforcement agencies from using county facilities for firearms training.
However, county Sheriff Kelly Martinez said in a statement that she "will continue to allow CBP to utilize the Otay Range," after "careful consideration of impacts at the border, workers traveling to and from their jobs; children, young adults and college students crossing the border to attend school; and communities near the border."
"Future options are being explored, but currently there are very limited available training spaces," according to the Sheriff's Office.
The board voted 3-2 on the proposal by Supervisors Paloma Aguirre and Terra Lawson-Remer after hearing from dozens of county residents and activists, a majority of whom were in favor.
"The license agreements between San Diego County and the federal Department of Homeland Security/ICE for the use of the San Diego Regional Firearm Training Center and Miramar Firearm Training Center will end 10 days after the federal government receives notice from the county," according to Lawson-Remer's office.
In a statement later on Tuesday, Aguirre said that she expects all county departments to abide by the supervisors' decision.
Martinez announced Tuesday that she has notified Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials that they will no longer have access to or be allowed to use sheriff's facilities for purposes of training and firearms qualifications.
"Our authority to enforce the law depends on the trust and confidence of the communities we serve, and I always balance my decisions based on community trust and public safety," Martinez said in a statement.
"While ICE serves a primary mission of enforcing federal immigration law, (Customs and Border Protection's) mission is to protect the American people, safeguard our borders and enhance the nation's economic prosperity at the ports of entry, including land borders, cruise ship terminals and airports," Martinez added.
Along with Aguirre and Lawson-Remer, Supervisor Monica Montgomery- Steppe voted in favor, while their colleagues Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond were opposed.
In a statement Tuesday, Lawson-Remer said the county is "not in the business of sacrificing the lives, safety and well-being of our residents in exchange for blood money from the federal government."
"Our public facilities should serve our residents, not support federal immigration operations that disregard due process and the rule of law," the board chair said earlier. "If the Trump administration wants to spend billions on this flawed deportation agenda, they can use their own federal resources to carry it out. Our community is a home, not a target."
The county has existing agreements with ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection allowing the agencies to use both training facilities.
"The federal government cannot terrorize our families all week and rent our firing ranges on the weekend -- not in this county, not anymore," Aguirre said.
"Our core job is to keep people safe, yet families across San Diego are living in fear just going to school or the grocery store. Ending these agreements stops our taxpayer property from being used to enable that harm."
Desmond in a statement that the ban "puts politics and optics ahead of common sense and public safety, and it will make our communities less safe."
Before the vote, Desmond said that a few years ago, "we had tens of millions of people coming across the border, unvetted," adding that's why ICE has more funding now.
"Now, we're kind of reeling with the consequences of that," Desmond said. "Yes, I'll admit that ICE has overreached and overstepped, but how do you fix that? You fix it with more training."
During public comment, many in favor of the ban said ICE raids have torn communities apart.
"Fascism advances because institutions accommodate it, because somebody decides, `It's just a facility, it's just cooperation, it's just training, it's just one agreement,'" one woman said. "And every one of these decisions makes the next one easier."
Sidney Aki, field operations director for the U.S. CBP San Diego office, said restrictions could harm cross-border commerce, a concern echoed by at least two regional chamber of commerce officials.
"We focus on the economic engine, the commerce entering the United States," Aki said, adding the San Diego ports of entry are the busiest in the nation.
Aki said the federal agency has exhausted commercial firearms training facilities in the region, while other ranges are too small to handle the CBP's needs. Patricia Mondragon, of Alliance San Diego, said it's possible to protect both immigrants and the binational economy.
"We should not allow the federal government to hold our communities hostage with longer wait times," she added.
Lawson-Remer said stopping federal immigration authorities from using the firearm ranges won't prevent law enforcement officers from doing their jobs.
"It boggles the mind to think that a $110,000 contract at a county training facility could be the lynch pin for a multibillion-dollar cross-border operation," she said. "That seems to be a distraction from the real issue at stake here."
According to the supervisors, in July 2021, a 10-year license agreement authorized ICE to use the Otay Mesa facility. Because the agreement fell below the dollar threshold requiring board approval, it was executed administratively. The board did not consider it, and it received no public deliberation. Since 2024, ICE and CBP have collectively logged approximately 3,350 hours at the facility.
In May, ICE reported that its agents apprehended 16,368 people in San Diego County between Jan. 20 and April 1.
The data came in a letter response to Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, who expressed concerns about ICE's tactics during operations in Oceanside and requested information about the warrants involved and the detainees' criminal records. The latter was not provided. At a Monday news conference, a woman named Maritza thanked for the county for standing with her and others "against this abuse of power."
"We are not criminals -- we are families living in constant fear of simple everyday tasks like going to work, church, or school," said Maritza, a Barrio Logan resident "Having lived through family separation twice and lost loved ones to gun violence, allowing ICE agents to train with firearms in San Diego will only lead to excessive force and more lost lives."
Escondido City Councilwoman Consuelo Martinez said at the news conference that "as local leaders and policymakers, we have a responsibility to make sure taxpayer-funded facilities and public assets are not contributing to an immigration enforcement system that is inflicting fear and cruelty on our communities."
"We may not control federal immigration policy, but we absolutely have a say in how our local public resources are used," she said.
According to Aguirre and Lawson-Remer, letting ICE use county facilities conflicts with the Civil Liberties Enforcement and Accountability Rules ordinance, which restricts federal law enforcement access to county facilities without a warrant.
They added that letting the agreements stand also violates civil liberties and Know Your Rights programs.
The county-owned Firearms Training Center was built in 1996 via a partnership with the FBI, which operates it along with the District Attorney's and Sheriff's offices, according to Aguirre and Lawson-Remer.
The county entered into a 2017 contract with the CBP San Diego field office to use its facility, "but neither agreement surfaced publicly until an April 2026 investigative report by iNewsource brought them to light," Aguirre and Lawson-Remer said.
By KAREN WEIL / City News Service
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