Encinitas lays out response after father’s immigration arrest near Park Dale school

Immigration agents’ arrest of a father near Park Dale Lane Elementary School during the Wednesday morning school drop-off period horrified the Encinitas community and led the City Council to issue an emergency response that night.

The council’s action came after crowds of people turned out for a quickly organized, early Wednesday evening rally at City Hall, then flooded into the building to demand that elected city officials take action.

“I’ve lived here for 42 years. Today is the day I feel the least safe in Encinitas, and I expect you to do something about that,” one Park Dale Lane parent, Farhad Mahmoudi, told the City Council.

Mahmoudi, who lives near the school, told the council that he walked several 7- and 8-year-old schoolchildren away from the incident and had to answer their questions about why “armed masked men” were taking someone’s dad away. He said he hoped the council members, several of whom have young children, never have to face what he did that morning.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said that the arrest occurred two blocks away from the school — not on school grounds — and that the man was alone in his vehicle. However, a woman and young child arrived in a second vehicle after ICE began its “targeted enforcement action” against the man, who is a native of Guatemala and had been issued a final order of removal from the United States in 2017, according to an ICE official. The woman and child should have stayed away from the area, the official added.

City Council members, who have been divided over national political issues in recent months, were united in their reaction to the arrest, calling it completely unacceptable for armed ICE agents wearing bullet-resistant vests to arrest the man near a school while schoolchildren were walking by.

“If there’s ever a need for an emergency item (on the council’s agenda), this is it, in my opinion,” Councilmember Joy Lyndes, a Democrat, said as she made a motion to add the issue to the council’s regular agenda.

Lyndes noted that a huge number of people turned out for the rally, then stayed to address the council during its regularly scheduled Wednesday night meeting. People filled the council chambers, the overflow rooms and outside spaces.

“There’s a lot of passion here, there’s a lot of fear. I think this community is in crisis,” she said. “We must take this opportunity to show we are leaders of this community.”

Her fellow council members — three of whom didn’t declare party preferences but received endorsements from the Republican-led Reform California organization when they ran for office in the last election — said they too believed Wednesday morning’s federal enforcement action was handled badly, regardless of the man’s immigration status. Councilmember Luke Shaffer called it “entirely counterproductive to public safety.”

“Regardless of how you feel about (illegal immigration), ripping kids away from school is inappropriate,” said Councilmember Jim O’Hara, who, along with Shaffer and Mayor Bruce Ehlers, was endorsed by the Reform California group in the November election.

Councilmember Marco San Antonio, who was picked by the council majority earlier this year to fill a vacant seat and represents a district that includes the Park Dale area, said he didn’t get to watch the widely circulating cellphone video of the incident until late in the day, but when he did, it was “tough to see,” especially because he has two young children.

After hearing public comments from dozens of people, some of whom broke down in tears, council members unanimously agreed to:

• Launch a “Know Your Rights” campaign, with help from businesses, faith organizations and community groups. Led by the city manager, it would include Sheriff’s Office participation and offer people advice for dealing with federal immigration enforcement agents;
• Submit a federal Freedom of Information Act request to get information about Wednesday’s ICE enforcement action and any others that occur in Encinitas;
• Explore whether the city can create safe zones near schools and churches where ICE enforcement won’t be allowed;
• See whether the city can bar ICE agents from wearing face coverings when making arrests in town;
• Look into the lawsuits that other California cities are filing to challenge ICE raids;
• Send letters to federal officials expressing the community’s outrage and demand that federal officials explain to the community what they are doing;
• Consider creating a community communications effort to help people learn about ICE actions when they are taking place.

“This is just step one,” the mayor promised the crowd. “Stand by. There will be more coming.”

Audience members vowed they would continue to press for change. Many said they never expected something like Wednesday’s incident to happen in their peaceful town and now felt completely unsafe.

A teacher, who said she didn’t know the family, told the City Council that the man’s wife desperately handed over their crying young child to her, then tried to talk to the immigration agents. A mental health therapist said these arrest incidents can cause lifelong trauma for children, and a woman who organizes the city’s annual Dia de los Muertos event said she doubts Latino community members feel safe enough to leave their homes now, much less attend this October’s event.

“Encinitas to me really feels like home, until today,” said Gabby B. Love, a Mexican-American citizen whose family moved to San Diego County more than 100 years ago.

She’s started carrying around her passport to prove her citizenship, she told the council.

Staff writer Alexandra Mendoza contributed to this report.