The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday ended agreements allowing federal immigration authorities to use two county firing ranges.Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had previously trained at a county-owned range in Otay Mesa and county-leased range at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.But Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said during a meeting that supporting the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics and mass deportation effort is “immoral.”“The very core bottom line is that we’ve seen too many people dying at the hands of armed ICE agents,” she said. “And I don’t believe we, at the county, should be complicit.”ICE agents have shot and killed 11 people since the beginning of the second Trump administration, according to Lawson-Remer and Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, who brought forward the proposal.Meanwhile, immigration enforcement has surged locally. San Diego made national news last year when ICE agents clashed with residents while raiding an Italian restaurant in South Park.ICE data shows the agency removed more than 16,000 people in San Diego County between January 2025 and April 1. A separate KPBS analysis found the vast majority of immigrants arrested locally last year did not have criminal records.Lawson-Remer said the county’s association with federal authorities undermined public trust in government institutions, like schools and local police.“When people are afraid to report crimes or ask the government for help, all of us are less safe,” she said.Supervisor Jim Desmond voted against ending the range agreements. He acknowledged ICE has “overstepped,” but said agents need more access to training — not less.“ICE needs training, absolutely,” he said. “Let them train in a place where they can learn how to de-escalate a situation. That’s the training I think we’d all like to see.”ICE and CBP staff have logged more than 3,350 hours at the county-owned San Diego Regional Firearms Training Center since 2024, according to Lawson-Remer and Aguirre.In a statement, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said ending the range agreements will result in staffing issues and longer wait times at border crossings and the San Diego International Airport.“The San Diego County Board of Supervisors’ reckless, irresponsible, and ignorant proposal to limit the preparedness of frontline CBP personnel endangers lives and will cause immediate economic harm,” Scott said.Congressional lawmakers have given ICE and CBP an unprecedented amount of funding to carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. Given that, Aguirre was skeptical that forcing immigration authorities to train elsewhere would truly disrupt border crossing times.“There’s more than enough resources for CBP to open all the available physical lanes in place to ensure our cross-border economy can thrive,” she said.Aguirre also said recent Trump administration policies — like redirecting CBP officers to conduct enforcement away from ports of entry — likely has a bigger impact on border wait times.
