ICE has launched a 45-day enforcement surge in California

ICE has quietly launched a 45-day enforcement surge across California, and once again undocumented families in San Diego are bearing the brunt of it. According to the Washington Examiner, the effort, ironically named "Operation Safe California," began in San Diego. A source said officers were "told to go after anybody," including people with no criminal history. That instruction reveals the operation's purpose: not targeted public safety, but a dragnet designed to spread fear.

Unlike the highly public operations that rolled into Minneapolis and other cities, this surge arrived unannounced. ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to multiple requests for comment. That silence leaves communities guessing, which is its own form of intimidation.

On the ground, the impact is unmistakable. "There's been a massive surge. We're getting phone calls from all around the city," said Mea Dominguez of the City Heights Defense Committee. She added that calls now come in "every 10 to 15 minutes." Organizers report unfamiliar agents driving vehicles with out-of-state plates. "These are all new people," Dominguez said.

Videos posted online show an arrest in a home improvement store parking lot, an encounter at a gas station, and agents near a North Park construction site. These are places where working people go to earn a living.

Most disturbing is the presence of agents near schools. At Hoover High School, an agent reportedly stopped a student, asked for her identification, and then "told her that she was lucky." On Wednesday, a suspected agent questioned another student as he walked onto campus. Dominguez also confronted an agent parked outside Wilson Middle School.

"We are sending kids to school in San Diego right now, and they do not know on a day-to-day basis whether or not their parents will be there," said City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera. He described "waves where things have gotten more intense and more scary," and called this "definitely one of those waves."

A community patroller named Cindy put it simply: "This is not fair to our community." For families already living in fear, this surge has little to do with safety and everything to do with intimidation.

Link: NBC San Diego