Escondido Mayor & Council Fail Residents’ Requests for Safety Again, Refuse to End Firing Range Contract

Escondido Mayor & Council Fail Residents’ Requests for Safety Again, Refuse to End Firing Range Contract

Escondido, Calif. – Calls for action and accountability filled the Escondido City Council Chambers after, once again, Mayor Dane White and Councilmembers Joe Garcia and Judy Fitzgerald refused to second a motion by Councilmember Consuelo Martinez to put the ICE/HSI Firing Range Contract itself on the agenda for a vote.  Councilmember Fitzgerald seconded a motion only for a status update at an unspecified future date. 

“It’s astounding.  Given what we now know, that Mayor White once again turns his back on his neighbors, frankly showing zero empathy for what immigrant, Latino, Black and Brown folks are facing today,” said S.G. Sarmiento, Attorney for NDLON who helped file the community’s PRA request, “The Mayor and Chief Plunkett could end it now, but they are choosing to do business with ICE.”

Councilmember Christian Garcia, who did not attend the meeting, shared a statement to the press and wrote on social media that he believes what ICE says about their HSI operations, saying residents of Escondido are confused and don’t understand the issue.  

Richard Cannon, an Escondido resident and organizer with 50501 North County San Diego responded, “Councilmembers like Christian Garcia keep lying to Escondido residents that HSI agents aren’t involved in immigration enforcement, when they’ve been provided documentation on multiple occasions showing otherwise.  HSI’s stated mission is investigating crimes like human trafficking, but since 2025 there have been multiple documented cases of HSI agents doing the same immigration enforcement work as ICE’s deportation officers, both here in San Diego and across the country.” 

In fact, HSI agents have been recorded abducting people and wantonly destroying property in Escondido.  50501 North County compiled this list of HSI involvement in immigration enforcement.  

The PRA request also revealed that DHS agents have utilized the range under multiple labels, including “DHS,” “ICE,” and “HSI” at least until 2024, but more specific or recent details have not been disclosed. 

“That is all eroding public trust, and it’s why Escondido residents are demanding the agency stop using our firing range,” Cannon added.  “If Councilmember Christian Garcia is tired of hearing his constituents raise concerns around HSI’s reckless and at times illegal immigration enforcement, he should take that frustration to DHS and tell them to stop.” 

Residents and civil rights advocates expressed frustration that the Mayor and Council have failed to end the contract, but made clear this issue is not going away. 

One local resident and civic advocate, Brent Jensen, shared after the meeting, “The Council also needs to understand that one of the purposes of canceling the contract is to communicate that ICE/HSI does not have civil support for their actions.  So, it hardly matters which agency has the contract, because of the importance of sending the message that the community sees their actions as illegitimate.”

“Tonight showed once again that Mayor White and Joe Garcia have failed to act to protect the community,” stated Laura Hunter from Escondido Indivisible.  “The Mayor has especially let us down since he has a clear path to remove this threat, yet once again, he has left vulnerable Escondido residents to pay the price.”

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