Federal immigration agents detained two men and a housekeeper on Nogales Drive in Del Mar on Tuesday, Oct. 20, according to volunteer monitoring group North County Safe.
ICE has not publicly confirmed the detentions.
The arrests are part of a wave of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity across North County that The Coast News first reported Wednesday, Oct. 21. Residents in Encinitas, Oceanside, San Marcos, Vista and Escondido have also reported a stepped-up federal presence since early October.
The enforcement follows what the Washington Examiner described as a 45-day crackdown called "Operation Safe California," beginning in and around San Diego. The Coast News reported it was unable to confirm the operation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). A DHS statement said the agency would not disclose or discuss enforcement operations and that it enforces federal law across the country, including in California.
Regional arrests climbing
ICE arrested nearly 18,000 people in San Diego and Imperial counties between Jan. 21, 2025, and Aug. 6, 2026, according to federal records obtained by the Deportation Data Project. The numbers have climbed sharply. Monthly arrests rose from 169 in January 2025 to 1,964 in July 2026, The Coast News reported.
About 60 percent of those arrested in the region in July had neither criminal convictions nor pending charges, according to inewsource.
Incidents reported near schools
The Del Mar detentions came days after other reported encounters near schools in the area. In Encinitas, City Manager Jennifer Campbell said ICE told the city that an Oct. 9 incident involved agents surrounding a father's vehicle about 150 yards from a school at 7 a.m. The father was driving his child to a before-school program. The agents ordered him out, but he did not exit, and they left the area, Campbell said.
ICE and DHS did not give the San Diego County Sheriff's Office advance notice of that operation, Campbell added.
More than 10 residents spoke against ICE's actions at the Encinitas City Council meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 14, asking the council to do more to document enforcement activity and protect residents.
Volunteer patrols organize
North County Safe, a volunteer-run grassroots group, shares community reports of ICE and Border Patrol activity across coastal and inland North County on Instagram. The group also reported agents using parking areas behind two Encinitas churches without the churches' permission.
Sarah Garfield told The Coast News she has been conducting patrols on her own. "We just see these families are really scared," Garfield said, "and they sometimes don't go to school."
Oceanside Deputy Mayor Eric Joyce warned constituents on social media about ICE enforcement after a local father was taken into custody on Thursday, Oct. 8. Joyce encouraged residents to document ICE activity when safe and report sightings by texting 760-913-0306.
Residents who encounter immigration enforcement can also contact the San Diego Rapid Response Network hotline at 619-536-0823.
