On Wednesday morning, ICE agents arrested a father during school drop-off, within sight of children walking into Park Dale Lane Elementary. Kids saw “armed masked men” take someone’s parent away.

Most of the people ICE detains are not violent criminals. Raids like this don’t make us safer — they turn schools into traps, drive families into the shadows, and leave kids too scared to show up for class.

But something is happening here. San Diego is refusing to be silent.

A Community Rising

That same night, hundreds packed Encinitas City Hall. Parents, neighbors, and teachers spoke out, and a politically divided City Council voted unanimously to launch Know Your Rights trainings, demand answers from ICE, explore safe zones near schools and churches, and create alerts to keep residents informed.

Encinitas showed what happens when we flex our power: families showed up, allies showed up, leaders listened — and action followed that same night.

Something Is Happening Here

And this wasn’t the only sign of solidarity. Just the night before, more than 600 people had gathered at the San Diego Convention Center for one of the largest non-violent direct action trainings in the nation this year. Workers, teachers, parents, and students filled the hall — exercising their collective agency and leaving with real tools to protect their rights and defend their communities.

Taken together, these moments show a community bubbling with outrage, solidarity, and readiness — a movement that refuses to be driven into the shadows.

From Encinitas to downtown, San Diego is proving a simple truth: when ICE tries to turn our schools into traps, our communities rise instead.

Now let’s keep building. Attend a Virtual Know Your Rights Training, print and carry Know-Your-Rights Red Card, mark your calendars for upcoming Labor Day actions (here and here) and get involved however you can!

I don’t want to live in a society held together by fear, and this week, San Diegans showed we don’t have to. We showed what’s possible when neighbors rise with one voice.