ICE has launched a 45-day enforcement surge in California, according to a new report that says the crackdown began in San Diego, where community organizers say they’ve seen an uptick in agents on the streets. The Washington Examiner reports the effort is called “Operation Safe California,” citing a source who said officers were “told to go after anybody,” including those without a criminal history. ICE and the Department of Homeland Security – which marked record-high monthly arrests multiple times this past summer – did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The unannounced nature of the enforcement effort seems to be a continuation of the marked shift under DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin away from very public displays like the operations that rolled into Minneapolis and other cities across the country. Organizers in San Diego said Thursday they’ve already seen an increase in enforcement on the ground, spotting more agents in vehicles with out-of-state license plates, as well as near schools – including an incident with a student outside Hoover High School. “There’s been a massive surge. We’re getting phone calls from all around the city,” said Mea Dominguez, who’s part of the City Heights Defense Committee, a group that coordinates mutual aid for families impacted by detention and documents the presence of ICE. She said City Heights has been particularly impacted, but they’re getting calls now “every 10 to 15 minutes” from all across the region. “We’re seeing new cars, new vehicles, new license plates, a lot more vehicles than we were before. Usually we’ll start to recognize the officers,” Dominguez said, “but these are all new people.” Multiple videos of enforcement operations in San Diego have been posted to social media in the past few days, including an arrest in a home improvement store parking lot off Imperial Avenue, an encounter at a gas station off El Cajon Boulevard, and a presence of agents near a construction site in North Park, among others. “It has picked up significantly in the last three days,” added Cindy, another community patroller who asked to not use her last name. “In my heart, there’s a lot of hurt. I’m hurt because this is not fair to our community.” Dominguez shared a video she recorded while confronting an agent parked outside Wilson Middle School off El Cajon Boulevard, asking him why he was there before he drove away. “We are sending kids to school in San Diego right now, and they do not know on a day-to-day basis whether or not their parents will be there,” said San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, who represents City Heights. Elo-Rivera organized a march through the neighborhood last month in response to enforcement near schools, including an incident in which he said ICE agents stopped a student at Hoover High School and asked for her identification. Elo-Rivera said when she showed her ID, the agent “told her that she was lucky.” Another incident unfolded in the same area on Wednesday, according to San Diego Unified School District, in which a suspected ICE agent approached and questioned a student as he walked into the school campus. “We recognize that situations like this can create anxiety and uncertainty for students and families,” reads a letter from the school’s principal to families about the encounter, without giving specific details. “Our immediate focus has been supporting those directly impacted and ensuring students have access to caring adults and appropriate resources.” “For over a year and a half now, City Heights and San Diego has felt the presence of ICE the whole time,” Elo-Rivera said. “There’s rarely a day that goes by where someone isn’t impacted, and we’ve also felt waves where things have gotten more intense and more scary. And this is definitely one of those waves.” “I’m sad for my community,” Dominguez said. “I would just ask these officers to really consider your impact in this world and if that is the kind of thing that you want to have a conversation about with God at the end of the day, because that’s not what I would want to talk about.” ...read more read less