Overview
Immigration officers have been arresting individuals outside federal courtrooms since May, a development that has radically altered day-to-day operations in San Diego Immigration Court. Times of San Diego observed proceedings that were open to the public, along with multiple arrests in the court’s hallways, from June 17-24. This story documents scenes from those five days.
Nearly 58,000 immigration detentions have taken place through the end of June – it’s unclear how many of them have been outside courtrooms. Since October 2024, nearly 7,000 individuals have been categorized as eligible for expedited removal.
In the two months since courtroom arrests began, ICE has become the highest-funded law enforcement agency in the federal government.
The passage of the “big, beautiful bill” signed by President Trump allocated $170 billion for immigration enforcement and border security, which includes $75 billion in additional funding for ICE spread over five years.
The unprecedented scale of the enforcement is visible in some ways. A Florida detention facility, named Alligator Alcatraz, contains hundreds of detainees, many of whom have no criminal record. A Ventura County farm raid sparked outrage and protest in local communities, as did the raid, on horseback, in Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park.
As for San Diego, in the days following the increase to ICE’s budget, volunteers have said that the number of officers present in San Diego Immigration Court on a given day has increased – one observer said he saw 15 Wednesday – and the aggression has too.
“This is a fight between the previous administration and this administration and the client gets caught up in the middle,” said Saint-Jeans. “(Immigrants) don’t have any options. They have their backs against the wall.”
