\u201cThis has been extremely disturbing,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause this is what we have feared for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other local groups have also recently reported heightened immigration enforcement operations throughout the county. According to new data, July saw the highest number of immigration arrests in the San Diego region in a single month under the second term of the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not happening with great fanfare, but it\u2019s happening,\u201d said the Rev. Scott Santarosa from Our Lady of Guadalupe parish during a recent prayer vigil<\/a> in Linda Vista in solidarity with immigrant communities. \u201cEven though a lot of people think it\u2019s not happening, it is.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis earlier this year, Trump officials signaled their intent to take a more low-key approach<\/a> to immigration enforcement operations.<\/p>\n In July, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said<\/a> that the agency was \u201cturning up the heat on the streets,\u201d but wanted to stay out of the headlines \u201cevery single day.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, community patrols, advocates and local residents have documented ICE activity and shared it on social media, offering a glimpse into what is taking place in San Diego neighborhoods.<\/p>\n Following the Trump administration\u2019s decision to end Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Haitians last month, which was upheld<\/a> by the Supreme Court, Jozef said that the San Diego-based organization has sensed an uptick in ICE activity, both locally and in other cities.<\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as they made that decision from the Supreme Court, they started taking community members, people going to the laundromat, to school, to the supermarket, or doing food delivery,\u201d Jozef said.<\/p>\n A spokesperson with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that the agency \u201cis conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe\u201d and added that DHS \u201cdoes not discuss ongoing or future operations.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTemporary Protected Status is exactly that \u2014 temporary,\u201d the spokesperson added. \u201cFor too long, TPS has been allowed to function as a de facto amnesty program despite Congress never intending it to be permanent.\u201d<\/p>\n The busiest month<\/p>\n ICE data obtained<\/a> by the Deportation Data Project via public records request and analyzed by the Union-Tribune show that ICE\u2019s San Diego division made about 9,200 arrests from Jan. 1 to Aug. 6 of this year. Nearly 2,000 of those arrests were made in July alone.<\/p>\n Arrests by ICE in the San Diego area of responsibility, which covers San Diego and Imperial counties, are already outpacing those made last year. ICE made about 8,500 arrests in the region in 2025, the data shows.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Data show that just over half of those arrested so far this year, 51%, had no current or pending criminal charges. Last year, it was a slightly larger portion, about 57%.<\/p>\n A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson disputed the data, saying it is being \u201ccherry-picked by the Deportation Data Project to peddle a false narrative.\u201d\u00a0The Deportation Data Project said it does not add or drop any rows from the data.<\/p>\n The federal agency said that nationwide, agents are targeting \u201cpublic safety threats\u201d and that the percentage of those arrested with criminal convictions or pending charges is higher.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Deportation Data Project relies on information releases that have not been reviewed, audited or given context,\u201d the spokesperson added. \u201cDHS nor ICE have verified the accuracy, methodology or the analysis of the project and its results.\u201d<\/p>\n The spokesperson said the Deportation Data Project\u2019s work is \u201cinaccurate,\u201d even though the project publishes data from ICE that the federal agency doesn\u2019t regularly share publicly.<\/p>\n Nationwide, ICE made nearly 50,000 arrests in July<\/a> \u2014 the highest single month for arrests so far under Trump.<\/p>\n Tactics on the ground<\/p>\n Community patrol volunteers said the newly obtained data matches what they have seen or received reports of in recent months.<\/p>\n \u201cNow that we\u2019re looking at the data, it\u2019s clear why there have been so many calls to the Uni\u00f3n del Barrio patrol line,\u201d said volunteer Adriana Jasso. \u201cPeople are asking what they can do next.\u201d<\/p>\n The organization believes the uptick could be related to additional federal funding under H.R. 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, allowing for the deployment of more resources and enforcement teams throughout the county, Jasso said. The bill allocated<\/a> nearly $30 billion for ICE, including for purposes of hiring and training additional personnel through September 2029.<\/p>\n Jasso said that they have noticed more ICE vehicles at arrest scenes lately, as well as quicker arrests, compared to previous months.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems there\u2019s an effort to make the arrest where there are as few witnesses as possible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Neither DHS nor ICE responded to questions about the increase in arrests or whether additional resources had been allocated.<\/p>\n For years, Uni\u00f3n del Barrio has been documenting incidents involving ICE agents in local neighborhoods. During a Wednesday morning shift, agents were not seen, but the group gathered later to speak about concerns raised by community members.<\/p>\n Data indicate that most of the arrests made by the San Diego division this year occurred in the city of San Diego, including hundreds in San Ysidro, home to the nation\u2019s busiest land port of entry. El Centro and Calexico, both in Imperial County, also had a high number of arrests.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n From the more than 17,600 arrests made by ICE in the region since the start of the current administration, the overwhelming majority \u2014 about 74% \u2014 are Mexican nationals, followed by 5% from Guatemala, 3% from China, and 2% from Venezuela and Colombia, according to the data.<\/p>\n What court records say<\/strong><\/p>\n Once individuals are detained, one way they can try to seek freedom \u2014 at least temporarily \u2014 is through a habeas corpus petition, which challenges the legality of a person\u2019s detention. Most petitions allege some sort of due process violation, arguing that the detainee has been held too long without being granted a hearing, or that immigration agents detained a person who had been previously granted immigration parole without a valid reason for revoking that parole.<\/p>\n![\"ICE](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sut-l-ice-data-01.jpg\")
ICE agents try to detain a person in the College Grove shopping center in Oak Park on Aug. 19, 2026. (Sideo TV)<\/p>\n![\"Parked](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sut-l-ice-data-007.jpg\")
Parked at a park in Linda Vista, Adriana Jasso places the magnetic door signage identifying their group. The small group of volunteers with the Uni\u00f3n del Barrio community patrol will drive through alleyways and large parking lots, as well as past nearby schools, searching for signs indicating that federal immigration agents are actively operating in the area.\u00a0(Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n