Encinitas city officials are pushing back against a viral claim that the city agreed to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement in exchange for a $33.6 million railroad safety grant.

The claim, published by an anonymous Substack account called "Fear and Loathing in Encinitas," spread on social media before the Tuesday, Nov. 3, election. As first reported by North County Pipeline columnist Steve Puterski on Nov. 1, court rulings, federal guidance and public records contradict the account. The anonymous posts targeted Mayor Bruce Ehlers and Marco San Antonio, both running in the election, according to the column.

Encinitas Communications Manager Jessica Gilera told North County Pipeline that the City Council authorized staff to pursue the grant on Oct. 22, 2025. The federal Notice of Funding Opportunity did contain language about immigration enforcement cooperation, Gilera said, but "authorization to apply for the grant did not constitute acceptance of those conditions."

Gilera said the city has signed only the grant application, which did not contain an immigration enforcement provision. No final grant agreement has been received. Once it arrives, the agreement will go before the City Council at a public meeting, she said.

The timeline undercuts the viral claim. A federal judge blocked the U.S. Department of Transportation's Immigration Enforcement Condition (IEC) with a preliminary injunction on June 19, 2025, Puterski reported. That injunction was made permanent on Nov. 4, 2025. The DOT then said it would not enforce the IEC and that the conditions have no legal effect, according to the column. Encinitas submitted its application on Feb. 4, 2026, months after the permanent injunction, City Manager Jennifer Campbell told the council, according to the column.

The anonymous publication also claimed Encinitas "was the only city in the entire state" awarded a grant through the Federal Railroad Administration program. That is false, Puterski reported. The city of Shafter, which partnered with Kern County, also received an award.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported in August that the $33.6 million covers three projects along the city's six-mile railroad corridor between Cardiff and Leucadia, including a pedestrian tunnel, new crossings and a train-horn quiet zone.

The final grant agreement has not yet been presented to the council.