{"id":469353,"date":"2025-12-24T19:14:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T19:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/469353\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T19:14:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T19:14:19","slug":"in-an-era-of-ice-raids-a-latino-christmas-tradition-proceeds-with-caution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/469353\/","title":{"rendered":"In an era of ICE raids, a Latino Christmas tradition proceeds with caution"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story<\/a> was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up<\/a> for their newsletters.<\/p>\n

On Friday night, organizers of a community holiday festival in San Marcos were busy planning a neighborhood procession and readying trays of tamales for guests.<\/p>\n

At the same time, they were preparing security to watch for ICE activity in the largely low-income, Latino area of North County San Diego.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe rely on the community,\u201d said San Marcos Councilmember Maria Nu\u00f1ez, who represents San Marcos\u2019 District 1, where 55% of the voting-age population is Hispanic. \u201cPeople are on high alert. If they see anything, hear anything, if ICE is in the area, they\u2019ll let us know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Universidad Popular, a civic organization in North County San Diego, sponsored the event, called the Posada Comunitaria, with a local church, Restoration Abbey. It\u2019s the third time they\u2019ve held the event in San Marcos, but this year, the festivities took place against a backdrop of apprehension as immigration enforcement has ramped up under the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

The procession, or posada, traditionally reenacts the pilgrimage of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem before the birth of Christ. In San Marcos, residents and organizers filed through the neighborhood, where affordable housing complexes are home to many immigrant families.<\/p>\n

The event places the Advent story in a modern context, said Alex Aguas, a priest with Restoration Abbey, which assists asylum-seekers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe practice of the Posada really invites people to think about \u2018what does it mean to be rejected?\u2019 \u201d he said. \u201cOr \u2018what does it mean to be on the margins and looking for sanctuary and shelter at this time?\u2019 We also just get to have the opportunity to celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

As guests arrived and sipped cups of coffee and apple cider, security volunteers in hot pink vests huddled to discuss how to manage traffic control and watch for immigration agents.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"People<\/a>
\nDozens of people hold candles and paper lanterns for the start of the Universidad Popular Posada in San Marcos on Dec. 19, 2025. ( Photo by Zo\u00eb Meyers\/For CalMatters)<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of our teams, all of our pink vests here, have been trained in immigration response,\u201d said Arcela Nu\u00f1ez, co-director of Universidad Popular, and Maria Nu\u00f1ez\u2019s sister.\u00a0 \u201cWe have people watching all points in this neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Marcos, a city of 94,000, appears to account for just a few of the immigration arrests in the San Diego area. But government data suggests the numbers have ticked up this year, and organizers said they have seen more immigration activity recently.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested at least 38 people in San Marcos since September 2023, with 20 of those arrests between June and October of this year, according to federal data provided by ICE in response to a FOIA request, processed by the Deportation Data Project and analyzed by CalMatters. CalMatters contacted ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to confirm the numbers and has not heard back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The escalating enforcement, and a change in policy that permits immigration enforcement at areas such as churches and schools that were previously off-limits, has created a chilling effect on some community activities. Arcela Nu\u00f1ez said her organization debated whether to hold the event this year in light of those concerns. They decided to go ahead, but to proceed with caution.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>A child swings a stick at a pi\u00f1ata at the Universidad Popular Posada in San Marcos. (Photo by Zo\u00eb Meyers\/For CalMatters)<\/p>\n

Organizers were particularly attuned to possible reports of ICE activity at the San Marcos Home Depot, less than a mile away, where other immigration raids have taken place this year. Home Depot stores where immigrant day laborers gather to seek work, have been a target for enforcement in Pomona<\/a>, Los Angeles<\/a> and S<\/a>a<\/a>cramento<\/a> this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In October U.S. Customs and Border Patrol arrested 22 people with criminal records at Home Depot locations in San Marcos and Encinitas, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Jason Givens said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything happens, look for experienced security,\u201d Flower Alvarez-Lopez, co-director of Universidad Popular, told about two dozen volunteers gathered in a circle. \u201cWe will be able to help you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Volunteers distributed candles to participants, who lined up to march through the courtyard of a neighboring apartment building.\u00a0 Musicians strummed guitars as several hundred singers serenaded residents with songs such as \u201cNoche de Paz\u201d and \u201cLetania para pedir posada,\u201d which translates to a litany requesting lodging.<\/p>\n

Their next stop was El Palenque Taco Shop, around the corner on San Marcos Boulevard. Organizers waved flashlights to direct the marchers and steered cars around the crowd in the parking lot, before leading the group a few doors down to La Michoacana Ice Cream.<\/p>\n

Carolers made one more stop at an apartment complex before returning to the church, where families lined up for plates heaped with rice and beans, tamales, pizza slices and conchas, a Mexican sweet bread.<\/p>\n

The San Marcos event\u00a0 proceeded without incident, but illustrates the tension that community leaders face trying to plan cultural celebrations while maintaining vigilance about potential immigration operations.<\/p>\n

Ines Delgado, an immigration advocate with the North County LGBTQ Resource Center in neighboring Oceanside, volunteered at the posada, after hosting a celebration for International Migrants Day a day earlier, on Thursday evening. On Friday morning she said some clients showed up for a food distribution at the center, but confided that they had been too nervous to attend festivities the night before.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMany said they were afraid to come out,\u201d she said. \u201cIt might be the focus on immigration, but also being out at night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/a>From left, Mathias Kim, 11; Hope Tapia, 9; and Junie Kim, 6, help serve food at the Universidad Popular Posada in San Marcos on Dec. 19, 2025. (Photo by Zo\u00eb Meyers\/For CalMatters)<\/p>\n

At the Universidad Popular offices in San Marcos, a sign on the door states, \u201cNotice: private property and establishment,\u201d warning immigration agents or other law enforcement officers that a judicial warrant is required to enter non-public areas.<\/p>\n

Inside, pink signs embellished with flowers remind clients of their rights to remain silent in the case of arrest, and to ask officers if they are being detained.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of our community partners are doing signage like this,\u201d Arcela Nu\u00f1ez said. \u201cSo if ICE were to show up, we don\u2019t want them to come in, and we want people to feel safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind their office, the group wrapped up the night with a pair of industrial-strength, star-shaped pi\u00f1atas. Dozens of children labored to smack them open and then scrambled to collect the candy after they burst.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although the organization and church host the posada and other community festivals annually, this year\u2019s neighborhood pilgrimage particularly highlighted the plight of \u201cstrangers seeking welcome,\u201d Aguas said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on the changing political climate, that work takes on different meaning and resonance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calmatters reporter Wendy Fry contributed to this story.<\/p>\n

CalMatters<\/a> is a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization bringing Californians stories that probe, explain and explore solutions to quality of life issues while holding our leaders accountable.<\/p>\n

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