CADEN HAYNOR / NEWS EDITOR

Mexican  and   American   flags rippled through the warm air, joining Sharpied signs flashing “ICE OUT”  and “Immigrants Make America Great” on  Jan.  30.  Hundreds of San Diegans of  all  ages rushed  out of class  and   work,  marching  through the streets  in  response to  the recent  national actions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

San Diegans took to the streets in City Heights to protest recent national ICE actions. Photo courtesy of @pslsandiego/Instagram

USD junior Sophia Raia arrived early to the protest with friends. Raia described the atmosphere at the protest.

“[The organizers] said we were  going   to   walk  up  the  side of  the   street,  but  we   instantly took up the  whole road,” Raia said. “It was  really cool, everyone  had   their  posters and  my  friend had   printed out little pictures for  us… I  turned around  15 minutes in and the entire park behind us had been filled in. It was fifty percent young  people, like ages 16 to 25, which was great to see.”

Raia explained why this protest is important to people in San Diego.

“As San Diego is a border city, it is definitely up there on future targets,” Raia stated. “So I think it’s so important to start resisting now and for other people to be aware of what’s going on because it sounds dystopian, but a lot of us know we’re next here.” 

ICE  is   currently detaining the highest number of people in the agency’s 23‑year history, 70,000 people as of Jan. 25. According to a 2023 population review, 47 states hold less total prisoners in their state prisons.

CalMatters, a non-profit news organization, released an article outlining an almost 1500% increase in San Diego and Imperial counties arrests by ICE from May to October 2025 compared to the same months in 2024. They also analyzed government  data  which outlined that federal immigration officers arrested over twice as many people in the San Diego region from September through October 2025   than  they  did  in  all  of 2024.

In a letter to the USD community  on  Jan. 28,  President James T. Harris III addressed concerns about ICE  activity  in   the  United States. This statement was released at the beginning of the semester when ICE activity was heating up nationwide.

“[T]oday, many are arguing that   individual  rights,  protected by the Constitution,  are under assault,” Harris  wrote. “As an academic community, we must continueto search for the truth and that requires an unwavering  defense  of  academic freedom and the freedom of inquiry in all that we do… Just as a civil and just society has to find balance, as a contemporary Catholic university located on an international border, we need to lean into our own values to understand what role we can each play at this moment as Changemakers committed to confronting humanity’s challenges.”

Border Patrol  has nationwide   authority   to    pursue immigration-related offenses, and they have increased jurisdiction within a 100 mile zone of the border. Within this zone, Border Patrol can board buses and trains to look for unauthorized immigrants and question individuals, but they cannot search personal belongings without a warrant.

A city over 300 miles from the border, Minneapolis, has experienced intense violence and ICE activity over the past two months. This activity includes the death of Renee Nicole Good, who was shot three times by an ICE agent, killing her as she drove away.

Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an intensive care nurse, was another Minneapolis resident and U.S. citizen killed in January by ICE agents. He was shot multiple times by an ICE agent after placing himself in between the agent and a woman on the ground.

Following the shootings and increased arrests, residents of Minneapolis increased their efforts patrolling and monitoring ICE, along with large scale protests and strikes.

The protesting residents wear whistles to alert others of ICE’s presence, occupy many street corners to witness and record any activity and light controlled fires for warmth in the below freezing temperatures. Some play loud music all night outside of hotels with agents inside.

USD senior Danny Honsa lives  15  minutes  outside  the city  of  Minneapolis. Honsa  commented on the Trump administration’s response to protesters of ICE within the city, including the response to the killing of Pretti.

“It’s  just   crazy  that  Trump  is referring to peaceful protesters as domestic terrorists,” Honsa  said. “I mean, when someone puts hands on you, you’re not going to  let that  happen  if   you didn’t do  anything  illegal.  These  ICE  officers  are  attacking people and I don’t think they are allowed to have the same power as  actual police. It’s ridiculous that people  shove ICE off of them, then they  get shot,  and  then  Trump is calling them a domestic terrorist. It’s like, watch the entire video.”

Members   of    the   Minneapolis community have banded together in solidarity during   this  turbulent  time.  Basic functions of the city have been disrupted,   including  school and small business operations.

USD sophomore William Edwards,   who    calls    Minneapolis home, described how his community has been affected by the recent ICE occupation.

“I think the biggest  impact has   been  in  schools,”   Edwards stated.  “My   dad’s  a  teacher and forty percent of his kids won’t come to class right now because they’re   scared  to  come because a lot of kids have been arrested  on  their  way  to   school, even if they are citizens, or noncitizens, it doesn’t matter.”

Edwards continued with an example of a student affected by ICE activity.

“One of his students he would have lunch with every day stopped coming to class,” Edwards said. “This girl’s like fifteen and she’s having to worry about being safe going to school. She got dragged out of her car driving her 7-year-old sister to school. They were detained for, I think her mom said, five hours before getting to speak to an attorney. So there’s a cloud of fear.”

Honsa went on to describe the current disposition of Minneapolis residents.

“I think people are more concerned with the fact that people are being ripped away from their families and mistreated horribly,” Honsa said. “That’s the scary part because it’s so intentional and so legal.  There’s   nowhere  in the constitution that says you can’t do that and I think that’s the biggest thing that needs to be addressed. So many countries don’t use such an old document and it’s so misinterpreted.”

In response  to  the  high ICE  detention rate  throughout the  country,  Raia  spoke to  the broader  San   Diego   community.

“Sometimes  I   can   get   stuck   in   the  cycle   of  educating myself   and   educating   others, but I just don’t think that is enough,” Raia stated. “I think that actions truly do speak   louder than words. If you are able, with   the   time  and ability to get somewhere, we have to stand   up   and   advocate.”

Even though ICE agents continue to occupy many cities around the country, there has been some recent change. On Feb. 5, 700 immigration enforcement agents were removed from Minneapolis effective immediately, leaving around 2,000 agents on the city streets. 

Following this update, Edwards looked ahead to a future without ICE agents in his home city.

“[The violence] is still happening and it’s going to continue to happen for months until they decide to leave,” Edwards said. “And when they decide to leave, there’s gonna be aftershocks. Businesses are going to be shut down, families are going to be broken apart like a puzzle, but to the agents that are there, their life will continue just how it was.”

In a news conference on Jan. 28, White House Border Czar Tom Homan described the removal of troops from Minneapolis as a one time reduction, due to “unprecedented cooperation” between federal, state and local authorities.  

Some USD students protest, and  others  watch  the  progress   of ICE agents throughout the country.

Hundreds of San Diegans marched through the streets, holding signs with anti-ICE sentiments. Photo courtesy of @pslsandiego/Instagram