Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a man not far from a school in Encinitas on Wednesday morning.
It happened a couple blocks away from Park Dale Lane Elementary and is the latest ICE operation to happen near a school in San Diego County. Earlier this month, people were detained near schools in Chula Vista and in Linda Vista.
The incident was recorded by a couple passing by at the time, and the video was making the rounds on social media.
The arrest conducted by federal agents left fear and anger in the hearts of many who saw the video and those who saw it first hand.
“You don’t think it is going to happen in a community like this, but the reality is, it’s happening everywhere,” a man who wished not to be identified and was with his wife at the time told NBC 7.
His wife was doing the video recording. The couple now fears retribution.
“They get targeted, whether it is on social media or people finding out their identity and harassing them, so I have concerns about myself and my family,” he said.
Also in the video was a woman who was identified as the wife of the man arrested and their daughter. Jesse Conn was another passerby who took the child into her arms.
“I just can’t believe that this is happening. I am so disgraced by how ICE got into our little town,” Conn said.
There were many conflicting stories circulating around the neighborhood, school and internet.
The incident didn’t happen in front of Parkdale Lane Elementary School. It happened at the corner of Parkdale Lane and Village Park Way. According to the video, the man was arrested around 7:30 a.m. — a half-hour before school is supposed to start.
The arrest was a half-mile from the school. In a letter to Encinitas Union School District parents, Superintendent Andrée Grey identified the man detained as an EUSD parent.
In part of a statement, the superintendent wrote: “As a District community, we are alarmed and disturbed by this event and its impact on children and families. EUSD stands firmly with every family in this community.”
Jeremy Ross, a family advocate, told NBC 7 that the couple has no children in the school district.
“They showed no warrant at any point in time nor would they identify themselves with any type of badge,” Ross said.
Ross organized a demonstration outside Encinitas City Council on Wednesday night. More than 100 people showed up.
“As a community, we cannot allow that type of threatening, dangerous, scarring behavior anywhere near our schools,” Ross said.
ICE Field Office Director Patrick Divver identified the man arrested as an undocumented Guatemalan with a final order of removal from the U.S. since 2017 and said he was alone in his truck on the way to work. The wife appeared in another car with the child in the back seat.
In part of a statement released Wednesday evening, the field office director wrote: “The truth of the matter is that ICE San Diego has not conducted enforcement at schools, and suggestions to the contrary mislead the public and create unnecessary fear.”
“These seem to be, to me, illegal activities,” District 3 Councilmember and Deputy Mayor Joy Lyndes said.
The demonstration outside city council spilled in council chambers. Because of the arrest, Lyndes called for an emergency add onto the agenda. Residents spoke passionately about what they saw in that video.
“We are really dying people from San Diego County, my people are literally in panic. They are terrified,” a resident said.
“Every human being in this country has a constitutional right to be safe and not be harassed because of the color of their skin,” another resident said.