San Diego County, California's second-largest county, has barred federal immigration agents from using county shooting ranges and firearms training facilities after its Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 at its August meeting to end licensing agreements with the Department of Homeland Security. The move affects access to Miramar and San Diego Regional firearms training centers.
The vote comes as Democrats in Congress have criticized ICE over agent training standards following deadly agent-involved shootings, including one that killed a Minnesota woman authorities said tried to run over an agent with her car.
What the Left Is Saying
Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, D-San Ysidro, pushed back on critics during the meeting. She said immigrants in her district will never feel the fear some San Diegans experience when they hear knocks on their doors from the "people who are supposed to protect you."
"I see what that fear does every day in the South Bay," she said, adding that as the supervisor representing the Mexican ports of entry in San Ysidro and Otay Mesa, she understands the importance of the border and people crossing it daily.
"When fear forces a community into silence, the people they elected have a duty to speak and that's what this item is about," Aguirre said.
Nearly three dozen House Democrats have separately demanded answers from DHS about ICE training following the Minnesota shooting. A letter to DHS, CBP and ICE signed by 28 lawmakers led by Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Ore., stated that "there is substantial evidence" contradicting Acting Director Lyons's claim that training thresholds have not been lowered.
Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., also questioned whether federal immigration agents receive sufficient training during a February hearing, asking: "What are they going to do with all of these [DHS agents] as they are learning on-the-job with weapons in their hands?"
What the Right Is Saying
California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-Poway, told Fox News Digital that the decision clashes with Democrats' own demands for better-trained ICE agents.
"Leftist Democrats cannot continue to advocate for federal agents to 'get more training' while at the same time purposefully removing opportunities like this to get that very training," Jones said. "The hypocrisy is dumbfounding."
Jones argued the move has consequences beyond preventing federal agents from using the facilities, noting their presence also provides an economic benefit.
"Not only do they speak from both sides of the mouth with actions like this, but this continues the board's trend of making reckless fiscal decisions that harm San Diegans, seemingly by the day," Jones said. "How much will this breach-of-contract and loss of business cost our community and its taxpayers?"
The board's two Republicans, Supervisors Jim Desmond and Joel Anderson, voted against the measure. Desmond is running this fall to succeed retiring Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.
Border Czar Tom Homan told reporters in July that while "there's always room for improvement," he wished there was more training available.
"You can never be overtrained. I wish there was more training," Homan said.
What the Numbers Show
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote was 3-2, with Democrats Nora Vargas, Terra Lawson-Remer, and Aguirre voting in favor and Republicans Desmond and Anderson opposed.
Fox News Digital reported that nearly three dozen House Democrats signed letters questioning ICE training standards. The letter from Salinas and 27 other lawmakers specifically cited reports that "training for ICE agents was significantly reduced."
San Diego County is California's second-largest county by population, with more than 3.3 million residents according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
The Bottom Line
The San Diego County vote creates a new fault line in the ongoing debate over federal immigration enforcement and local cooperation. While supervisors supporting the measure frame it as protecting immigrant communities from fear of deportation, critics including state Republican leadership argue it undermines public safety by limiting federal agent training access.
Fox News Digital reached out to Rep. Salinas and Sen. Durbin for comment on this development but had not received responses at publication time. The county's decision could face legal challenges depending on how existing licensing agreements are structured.