Amid rising fears, Encinitas may restrict federal immigration enforcement

Following concerns about escalating federal immigration enforcement, the Encinitas City Council will consider a series of actions Wednesday that would restrict the activity and provide more protection and resources for community members. 

Councilmember Joy Lyndes, the lone Democrat on the City Council, put the item on the agenda after dozens of people held a protest outside of the Oct. 14 council meeting and urged the city during public comment to do more to protect Encinitas and its immigrant community. 

Leucadia resident Amy Bennett called U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement “cruel.” 

“Our government has gone too far,” she told the council. “They have created disorder, fear, violence and even death. We all see it now, something is very wrong with the ICE system. It’s absolutely cruel. We can do better. We can provide safety and order without dehumanizing our friends and neighbors.”

Lyndes said in an interview Friday it’s important to discuss community concerns publicly. 

“When we don’t have dialogue, or if we don’t have transparency, or if things are happening in our community that people don’t know about, I think that’s where we get a lack of trust, and I worry that we’re kind of on the edge of that,” she said. “I want to do whatever I can to help build trust across all of our residents, so we know we’ve got each other’s backs, we know what each other knows and we’re well informed and educated.”

Her agenda item ends, “Silence and uncertainty only deepen people’s fear. Transparency and action build confidence.”

Prior action not enough 

It’s unclear how the other councilmembers, who tend to be more conservative, will vote on Wednesday’s agenda item. One has called ICE “a necessary evil.” 

Wednesday’s discussion comes a little over a year after the Encinitas City Council had two packed meetings in which it weighed what it could do about an increase in federal immigration enforcement actions following an immigration arrest of a father outside Park Dale Elementary School. 

The City Council voted unanimously in September 2025 to pursue several measures, including filing Freedom of Information Act requests with federal agencies to document immigration arrests in the city and  coordinating a “Know Your Rights” campaign with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department to inform immigrants of their rights. 

Lyndes said that the city has tried to be as transparent and communicative as possible, but it is “not meeting the expectations or the outcome that we need.” 

Mayor Bruce Ehlers, a Republican turned independent, has previously said he was not satisfied with the results. 

At a September candidate forum, he said the federal government has “not been very good at responding” to the public records requests. The mayor said he has met with U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, other North County mayors and federal immigration agents to try to get them to comply. 

“It’s very hard,” Ehlers said. “We get partial compliance. We get reports of what the people have done, but quite frankly, I’m not satisfied.”

It was at that forum that Councilmember Marco San Antonio, a Republican, called ICE a “necessary evil.”

“I believe ICE is doing their job,” he said. “They’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing, which is protecting our borders.” 

In an interview earlier this month, San Antonio said he stood by what he said. 

“Could ICE do a better job? Of course. It’s not a perfect system,” he said. “Is there things that we can do to help mitigate that, or when there is a mistake that we can help reunite those families much faster? I hope that there is. I hope that’s something that we as a city, as a country, as a government, can do.” 

At the September forum, mayoral candidate Rimga Viskanta and City Council candidates Arielle Golden and Brad Lefkowits, all of whom are endorsed by the San Diego County Democratic Party, said the city should do more to protect community members amid disruptive immigration enforcement. 

Candidate Ed Sprague, endorsed by Republican state Assemblymember Carl DeMaio’s conservative Reform Party, said that immigration enforcement could be “disruptive” but that all the city could do was inform residents of activity and advocate for humane and compassionate treatment. 

Continued calls from the community 

Encinitas community members have called for such intervention from their City Council. Those calls increased in September and October with an uptick in immigration arrests in the city.

Lyndes said groups of residents have been helpful in shedding light on what other cities have done and what options Encinitas has. 

There have been several high-profile arrests like one in September when people filmed what appeared to be armed federal agents at a gas station in a popular shopping area. 

In neighboring Carlsbad, a video of federal agents at a library parking lot prompted some community members to call on its City Council to take action in December.

There, Councilmember Teresa Acosta requested a report from the city’s police department on immigration enforcement actions. The resulting 27-page report left many questions unanswered. At a public meeting to discuss the report, Chief Christie Calderwood said she had “zero authority” over the federal government. 

Elsewhere, the county of San Diego requires federal immigration agents to present a judicial warrant or court order to enter non-public areas of county facilities.  

Lyndes’ proposal said that efforts in Encinitas would help keep the community safe. 

“Encinitas residents cannot thrive when they are living in a state of constant fear,” it said.