ICE arrests

Immigration arrests quietly surge by 1,500% in San Diego: ‘I feel the temperature rising’

By Wendy Fry and Natasha Uzcategui-Liggett, CalMatters

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

Photo:  members of Unión del Barrio gather by flashlight in the predawn hours before patrolling the Linda Vista neighborhood in San Diego on Jan. 13, 2026. The group by alerts residents to the presence of ICE agents in the community. Photo by John Gastaldo for CalMatters

January 29, 2026 (San Diego) - While the Trump administration’s immigration blitz hit Midwestern cities like Chicago and Minneapolis, a quieter escalation unfolded in San Diego late last year with agents making thousands of arrests in and around the city.


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