San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez has barred U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using the county’s firearms and training facilities, citing community concerns about how ICE agents have conducted themselves during armed confrontations. But she is declining to extend that ban to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a stance that puts her at odds with the county Board of Supervisors, which voted this week to cut off both agencies.
Martinez announced Tuesday that she had notified ICE it could no longer use sheriff’s sites for training or firearms qualifications, a decision she said followed months of conversations and community concerns about the actions of ICE agents during armed confrontations elsewhere in the country, according to Fox News and the sheriff’s own statement. “Community trust and strong relationships are the cornerstone of effective local policing,” Martinez said, adding that the department’s authority depends on the confidence of the communities it serves.
On CBP, the sheriff drew a line.
She said she would continue allowing the agency to use the county-owned Otay Mesa range, warning that cutting off access could lengthen border wait times and harm the regional economy. According to figures from her office cited by Fox News, more than 225,000 people enter the United States through San Diego ports of entry each day, including roughly 90,000 vehicles, 50,000 pedestrians and 5,500 commercial trucks, with waits that generally run one to three hours. The sheriff’s office said CBP has no comparable nearby training option and that ranges at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar are limited, and it noted that some CBP officers in neighboring Imperial County also rely on the Otay range. “Too many people on both sides of the border would be harmed by a decision to end CBP’s use of the facility,” Martinez said.
Her position runs against the Board of Supervisors.
According to the nonprofit newsroom inewsource, the board voted 3-2 on Tuesday to end agreements that for years let both ICE and CBP use two firing ranges: the county-owned site in Otay Mesa and another at Miramar that the county leases. Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Paloma Aguirre introduced the measure; Aguirre said ending the agreements would help protect immigrant communities, inewsource reported. The vote came after roughly two hours of testimony from dozens of speakers, including immigrant-advocacy groups, cross-border business representatives and a local CBP official, with most speaking in favor of the ban.
Hours after the vote, Martinez said she would still permit CBP to use the Otay range, and it remains unclear whether the sheriff or the board has the final say, inewsource reported.
The agreements had not been public until an April 2026 investigation by inewsource brought them to light. According to KESQ, the county-owned training center dates to a 1996 partnership with the FBI, and CBP’s use stems from a 2017 contract.
Other voices at the meeting argued the county could protect both immigrants and the border economy. Patricia Mondragon of the advocacy group Alliance San Diego said the community should not be forced to choose, telling the board, according to KESQ, “We should not allow the federal government to hold our communities hostage with longer wait times.” Lawson-Remer said barring the agencies from the ranges would not stop officers from doing their jobs, noting the CBP contract is worth about $110,000, KESQ reported.
The dispute is the latest between the sheriff and the board over the county’s response to stepped-up immigration enforcement. In December 2024, the board adopted a policy barring local law enforcement from actively assisting ICE in civil immigration cases. Fox News reported that it contacted ICE, CBP, and the county for comment on Martinez’s decision.
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