Carlsbad City Council seeks report on federal immigration enforcement from police chief

Following community concerns and a unanimous City Council request, Carlsbad Police Chief Carrie Calderwood is preparing a report on federal immigration enforcement in the city, the latest sign of tensions over the Trump administration’s widening immigration crackdown.

Residents who circulated a video online of federal agents in a city library parking lot Dec. 2 and then lobbied the council “to oppose any use of city property — including libraries, parking lots, buildings, or other public spaces — for federal immigration enforcement activity” Dec. 9 expect the report early next year. One councilwoman said it would “separate fact from fiction.”

It’s unclear exactly what federal agents were doing at the Carlsbad City Library on Dove Lane. 

Retired librarian Geri Ingram told the council that federal agents staging on city property raised questions about community trust and was “not reflective of Carlsbad values,” but a federal spokesperson told inewsource agents were solely conversing with colleagues in a public space.

The Carlsbad situation is the most recent countywide in a year that has seen conflict between local and federal officials over President Donald Trump’s hard line on immigration. 

A video posted to Facebook showed agents wearing plainclothes and protective vests in or near multiple vehicles in the parking lot outside of the library. A person filming the video counted seven government vehicles, and asked one agent which agency they were with, to which the agent replied “Homeland Security.” 

A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, which is within the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement to inewsource that agents “were present at the location solely to have a conversation” and that “false information and fearmongering” were contributing to an increase in assaults against ICE agents. The spokesperson called on “sanctuary politicians, agitators, and the media to turn the temperature down and stop calling for violence and resistance against ICE law enforcement.”

Councilmember Teresa Acosta, who made the motion to ask the police chief to prepare the report, said that the council needs “to get to the bottom of it.”

“I’ve heard from many Carlsbad residents that they are concerned and fearful about immigration enforcement actions in our community,” Acosta told inewsource last week. 

The day after the incident, the Democratic Club of Carlsbad Oceanside posted a call to action on social media with a sample letter to be sent to the Carlsbad City Council objecting to federal agents’ use of city property. 

“The presence of federal tactical units using a public library parking lot as a staging area raises serious questions about compliance with state law and about the city’s role in protecting community trust,” the sample letter said. 

“The safety and security of this city are in your hands,” Carlsbad resident Julann Lodge told the City Council at the meeting. “You have a responsibility to protect all the residents in this city and make sure that our assets are used for the benefit and the well-being of all of the residents here.” 

In a statement last week, city spokesperson Amy Ventetuolo told inewsource that it doesn’t have jurisdiction over federal actions and that it is committed to the safety and trust of the community. 

Ventetuolo also noted that Carlsbad police do not participate in immigration enforcement, which would violate the state’s so-called sanctuary law Senate Bill 54 that limits local cooperation with the federal government over immigration enforcement. Carlsbad has not implemented its own sanctuary policy.