The Encinitas City Council takes up a six-part proposal Wednesday, Oct. 28, that would restrict federal immigration enforcement on city property and request buffer zones around schools and churches.
Councilmember Joy Lyndes placed the item on the Oct. 28 agenda after dozens of residents protested outside the Oct. 14 council meeting, urging the city to do more to protect the immigrant community, inewsource reported.
Lyndes, the lone Democrat on the five-member council, proposed that the city draft an ordinance barring the use of city property and resources for federal immigration enforcement. The proposal also asks the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to stop conducting enforcement at schools, churches and gathering places like the YMCA, and within a half mile of schools.
Other components include a public reporting system for immigration enforcement activity, a network connecting affected families with attorneys and mental health services, regular working sessions with local support groups and a commitment to public progress updates.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Encinitas City Council Chambers, 505 South Vulcan Ave.
How the other four councilmembers will vote is unclear. Councilmember Marco San Antonio, a Republican, called ICE "a necessary evil" at a September candidate forum, according to inewsource. He said in an October interview that he stood by those remarks but added that the city could help reunite families faster when mistakes happen.
Mayor Bruce Ehlers, a Republican turned independent, has said the federal government has been slow to respond to the city's public records requests. At the same September forum, Ehlers said he met with U.S. Rep. Mike Levin and other North County mayors to press federal immigration agencies for compliance, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
"We get partial compliance … but quite frankly, I'm not satisfied," Ehlers said at the forum, as reported by inewsource.
The positions of Deputy Mayor Jim O'Hara and Councilmember Luke Shaffer on the proposal have not been publicly stated.
The proposal follows more than a year of tension over immigration enforcement in Encinitas. In September 2025, the council voted unanimously to file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with federal agencies and coordinate a "Know Your Rights" campaign with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Lyndes told inewsource those earlier efforts are "not meeting the expectations or the outcome that we need."
At the Oct. 14 rally, retired Encinitas Union School District teacher Audrey Critchlow told the council that a recent ICE incident near Capri Elementary had traumatized the community. Protesters waved handmade signs in English and Spanish before filing inside to speak at the podium, the Union-Tribune reported.
The city posted a message about immigration enforcement on Oct. 21, acknowledging that enforcement activities "have created fear and uncertainty" and that federal agencies have not responded to the city's FOIA requests.
Residents can submit written comments by emailing [email protected] with the agenda item in the subject line. The next regular council meeting is scheduled for Nov. 18.
