On a 3-2 vote, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors today passed a critical proposal by Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer and Chair Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre to ban federal immigration enforcement agencies, including ICE, from using County facilities for firearms target training. 

The license agreements between San Diego County and the federal Department of Homeland Security/ICE for the use of the San Diego Regional Firearm Training Center and 

Miramar Firearm Training Center will end 10 days after the federal government receives notice from the County.

“We’re not in the business of sacrificing the lives, safety, and well-being of our residents in San Diego County in exchange for blood money from the federal government,” said San Diego County Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer. “...If the Trump Administration wants to spend billions on this flawed deportation agenda, they can use their own federal resources to carry it out.”     

Allowing ICE to use County facilities conflicts with San Diego County’s CLEAR Ordinance, Know Your Rights programs, and civil liberties protections. It also undermines local jurisdiction and erodes the trust our communities place in their local government. Board Chair Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre said we cannot continue building on that trust while providing County resources for federal immigration enforcement operations that cause harm to those very same communities we serve.  

“The County’s primary job is to protect everyone who lives here. Every day in the South Bay, I see what fear does—it empties clinic waiting rooms and church pews, keeps kids out of school, and leaves crimes unreported because victims fear the report more than the crime. This decision is about more than a $100,000 contract; it is about whether this County continues to lend its property to the agencies our residents fear most. We cannot trade our values for a license fee. When fear forces a community into silence, elected officials have a duty to speak,” said  San Diego County Board Vice Chair Paloma Aguirre 

The San Diego Regional Firearms Training Center is a County-owned facility at 440 Alta Road in Otay Mesa, constructed in 1996 through a partnership between the County and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and operated jointly by the Sheriff's Office, the District Attorney's Office, and the FBI.

In July 2021, a 10-year license agreement was executed authorizing ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations to use the facility for firearms training. Because the agreement fell below the dollar threshold requiring Board approval and pursuant to San Diego County Administrative Code Section 73.2(b)(2), it was executed administratively. The Board did not consider it, and it received no public deliberation. Since 2024, ICE and CBP have collectively logged approximately 3,350 hours at the facility.

At today’s meeting, numerous San Diego County residents and leaders today gave public testimony in favor of banning ICE from the County’s firing range at Otay Mesa. Many pointing out the hypocrisy of allowing ICE and Border Patrol Officers to train on County property when the San Diego Board of Supervisors has gone to great lengths to ensure residents’ safety. 

“ Under the leadership of this Board, recent policies like the CLEAR ordinance have been adopted whose aim has been to make San Diego residents feel safe interacting with our local government whether it is reporting a crime, seeking medical care using county services or sending our children to school. The trust that these policies are meant to engender among San Diego residents is fragile. When County facilities are used to train federal immigration enforcement officers in the use of firearms, a very different message is sent to all of us who call San Diego home,” said Caleb Ranie, a San Diego resident.  

Others argued the federal government has billions specifically available for personnel, training, facilities and infrastructure. San Diego County does not control staffing at San Ysidro or Otay Mesa. The federal government does. 

The County contracts will end 10 days after the federal government is given notice.  

BACKGROUND:

• According to recent data provided in response to a letter from Congressman Mike Levin, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents removed more than 16,000 people from San Diego County between January 2025 and April 2026, while refusing to disclose how many had criminal records, a level of secrecy that leaves families with no way to know whether due process was followed at all.

• Rising enforcement operations, and the fear that comes with them, have eroded trust in all levels of government. Since the start of the second Trump Administration, there have been at least 41 shooting incidents involving federal immigration agents, resulting in 11 fatalities. Separately, at least 43 people have died in ICE custody.