The incident unfolded around 9:30am Tuesday, September 8, at 16th and C streets, immediately adjacent to the City College campus. According to college spokesperson Jack Beresford, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents traveling in an unmarked vehicle stopped a car at the intersection and arrested its driver.
The district believes the driver is a San Diego City College student, although that has not been definitively confirmed. A passenger in the vehicle, however, has been confirmed by the college to be a student.
When the vehicle was stopped, the passenger fled and ran onto the City College campus. ICE agents pursued the student onto college property but stopped after realizing they had entered a college campus, according to Beresford. The agents then returned to their vehicles and left the area.
"We are providing support to the passenger," Beresford said in a statement. "Due to the sensitive nature of this matter, no additional details will be shared about the impacted individuals."
The district has not disclosed whether agents physically entered any campus buildings, how far onto college property the pursuit extended or what prompted the passenger to run. The passenger was apparently not taken into custody.
San Diego Community College District Chancellor Gregory Smith subsequently addressed the incident in a video message, confirming that ICE agents had left both the campus and surrounding area.
"This is a very unfortunate incident," Smith said. "No student, employee or member of our community should be afraid when they come to school, or they come to work or they come to participate in the many activities and services we offer."
The district's response went considerably further than simply notifying the campus community of the enforcement activity.
"This intrusion by law enforcement is both disruptive, unwelcome, and in conflict with the SDCCD's core values," Beresford said. "The safety and well-being of students and employees will always be the district's highest priority, and we remain committed to maintaining access to all members of our community."
District police identified and reported the presence of ICE under established procedures but did not participate in the federal enforcement action. California law generally restricts public college employees and campus law enforcement from using their resources to assist federal immigration enforcement, subject to specified legal exceptions.
The encounter comes amid a dramatically different federal immigration enforcement landscape than existed just two years ago. Shortly after President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, his administration rescinded longstanding federal guidance that had generally limited immigration enforcement in or near so-called "protected areas," including schools, churches and hospitals.
The Department of Homeland Security said at the time that the change was intended to prevent people from using those locations to avoid arrest. The policy shift prompted concern among schools and colleges across California about the possibility of immigration enforcement occurring on or near campuses.
California subsequently enacted additional protections governing immigration enforcement around schools. Senate Bill 98, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2025, requires California schools and colleges to notify their communities when immigration enforcement is confirmed on campus and establishes additional safeguards surrounding student access and campus response procedures. The law took effect in 2026.
San Diego Community College District had already been preparing for the possibility of immigration enforcement affecting its campuses. Earlier this year, district officials discussed protocols for responding to ICE activity, while City College's Undocumented Resource Center has continued providing students with immigration information, legal resources and know-your-rights guidance.
Those policies, however, do not make a public college campus completely off-limits to federal immigration authorities. The legal distinction between publicly accessible areas of a campus and nonpublic spaces such as classrooms and offices can be significant, and federal agents may have different authority depending upon where they seek to enter and whether they possess a judicial warrant.
Tuesday's incident is notable because, according to the district's account, ICE was not conducting an operation directed at San Diego City College. Rather, an enforcement action immediately outside the school crossed onto campus when the passenger ran from the stopped vehicle and agents followed.
College officials said ICE did not approach or interact with anyone else on campus, and there is currently no indication that City College itself was being targeted for an immigration enforcement operation.
The campus remained open following the incident, with classes and other services continuing as scheduled.
"We understand this news may be unsettling for members of our community," City College communications officer Cesar Gumapas wrote in an email to students, faculty and staff. "Your safety, and the safety of every student and employee, remains our top priority."
The district is providing counseling and legal services to students, employees and others affected by Tuesday's enforcement activity.
A number of significant questions remain unanswered, including why ICE stopped the vehicle, who agents were originally seeking, the legal basis for the driver's arrest and why agents pursued the passenger after the passenger fled onto campus.
Neither the arrested driver nor the passenger has been publicly identified, and the district has appropriately declined to release further information about either individual.
As of Tuesday afternoon, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security had not publicly provided their account of the incident. KPBS reported that it contacted both agencies seeking comment but had not received a response.
For City College students, the episode offered a real-world test of policies developed largely in anticipation of exactly this possibility: federal immigration enforcement suddenly reaching the edge of - and, however briefly, crossing onto - a college campus.
Originally published on September 8, 2026.
