San Diego establishes new rules for ICE shelter visits
On Wednesday morning, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) visited a homeless shelter in downtown San Diego. The shelter, managed by the Alpha Project, is a large tent with many bunk beds. One ICE agent came to the entrance, but the warrant they had appeared to be for just one person. Staff at the shelter were told not to interfere, and the agent declined to let them take a photo of the warrant. This visit comes amid new guidelines from the city about how homeless shelters should work with immigration officers. Recently, there has been concern over a rollback of policies that previously limited ICE's actions in sensitive locations like shelters. Leaders from various homeless organizations are navigating these changes as the government expands deportations. During the visit, ICE took one individual into custody, but details about the warrant were unclear. Tamera Kohler, from the Regional Task Force on Homelessness, noted this was the first instance of ICE visiting a shelter since the new administration took office. The new city guidelines instruct shelter staff to ask for an ICE agent's ID if they come into public areas. In “non-public” areas, agents must show ID and a judicial warrant to enter. If they do not, staff are advised to call local police. Some shelter leaders have stated they will consider sleeping areas as non-public and enforce stricter rules. While the guidance applies only to city-funded shelters, others may follow suit. Many shelters avoid asking about citizenship to comply with anti-discrimination laws. Recent data shows homelessness in San Diego continues to rise, with many experiencing homelessness locally, rather than due to immigration issues. There is limited information about how many homeless individuals may be migrants, as shelters do not record immigration status. PATH is a nonprofit that tracks requests for aid from migrants but is cautious about releasing this data, fearing it may lead to ICE raids. ICE has not publicly shared its approach to homeless shelters in recent years.