Since taking office on January 20, President Donald Trump has been fulfilling a campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration. Downtown San Diego is 17 miles from the border and the effects of his executive orders are being felt throughout the community.
Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency at the southern border. An additional 1,500 ground personnel, as well as helicopters, crews and intelligence analysts have been sent to the border, according to the Department of Defense.
The President also expedited the removal process, limiting the number of detainees allowed to have a case heard by an immigration judge.
The Department of Homeland Security also lifted the restriction of ICE raids at “sensitive” areas, including schools, churches and hospitals.
An unscientific polling of downtown San Diegans drew mixed reactions.
“I need to educate myself more, but I’m concerned,” San Diego resident Brianna Shane says. “Living in a diverse city, with such a proximity to the border, I feel like it’ll impact a lot of our community – it already has. I work at a hospital where we have seen a lot of ICE agents becoming more of a presence – I’m worried.”
San Diegan Ruben Guzman is a security guard and is for the intensification of immigration policies.
“My family is from over there, so I can see it both ways,” Guzman says. “But I just think there are a lot of criminals coming over. So if we’re going to do it, we have to do it right.”
Guzman believes Mexico should also be doing its part in securing the border.
San Diego resident Tony Carey is appalled by recent immigration policies.
“It’s straight-up barbaric,” Carey says. “I think a lot of people are close-minded about it. They aren’t realizing that it’s often our friends and neighbors who are also immigrants. Many of us are not more than two or three generations removed from immigrant families.”
Carey asserts that San Diego should be a sanctuary city, providing safety to those who come to the U.S. seeking job opportunities and a fresh start.
“I think these new policies are great and well overdue,” Downtown resident Melissa Youngclaus says. “We’ve said we needed to crack down, and we finally are. We are being invaded by people who are going to take over.”
Youngclaus is primarily concerned with illegal immigrants who have a criminal history, citing them as one of the reasons why she believes these new policies will be effective.
A San Diego resident who asked to be referred to as “Kyle” says that when developing opinions about the issue, it can be difficult to sort through misinformation on social media.
“I genuinely don’t know what the new policies are,” Kyle says. “But immigration is a huge part of San Diego’s culture. People come up here to work for the day, to provide for their family down south.”
San Diego resident Rachel Bern believes the new immigration policies will be counterintuitive.
“It’s disgusting. It doesn’t belong in our country,” Bern says. “This is supposed to be the land of the free. It’s really vile that this hate is spreading and affecting our communities.”
Bern asserts that, in addition to the policies themselves, the rhetoric behind the immigration crackdown is harmful to society.
“Immigration is so intrinsic to our culture – it is our culture,” Bern says.
According to San Diego resident Hayato Bonds, new immigration policies appear to be a way to further politicians’ agendas rather than a real step forward.
“I used to live in Logan Heights,” Bonds says. “There’s a huge Latino community over there. Immigration plays a significant role in San Diego’s culture.”
San Diegan Young Shin says the issue of immigration is far from black-and-white.
“If they’re breaking laws and they’re here illegally, we should get rid of them,” Shin says, “But if they’re here to make a living, to have a better life and to support their family, that’s another story.” SDSun
