--- title: "San Diego County ends ICE and CBP training contracts at local firing ranges" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/san-diego-county-ends-ice-and-cbp-training-contracts-at-local-firing-ranges" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/san-diego-county-ends-ice-and-cbp-training-contracts-at-local-firing-ranges" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/san-diego-county-ends-ice-and-cbp-training-contracts-at-local-firing-ranges.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/san-diego-county-ends-ice-and-cbp-training-contracts-at-local-firing-ranges" category: "Politics" area: "United States" published: "2026-08-18T23:05:27.942Z" source_reported: "2026-08-18T21:55:38.000Z" updated: "2026-08-19T01:00:47.940Z" trust_score: 78 critic_score: 70 hype_score: 15 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-08-19T00:49:30.794Z" --- # San Diego County ends ICE and CBP training contracts at local firing ranges *Supervisors voted 3-2 to terminate agreements after resident pressure over federal immigration enforcement practices* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 78 of 100, higher is better. AP report provides named sources and documents; digests corroborate across spectrum. - Craft 70 of 100, higher is better. AP report quotes affected parties and gives specific figures and dates. - Hype 15 of 100, lower is better. Headlines are measured; body text avoids sensationalism. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - San Diego County supervisors voted 3-2 to terminate contracts with ICE and CBP for training at county firing ranges. - The decision followed resident pressure over federal immigration enforcement practices under the Trump administration. - CBP head Rodney Scott said the move would force the agency to reduce local staffing, affecting border security and trade. - No right-rated outlet reported on the vote, though 11 outlets across the left and centre did. San Diego County supervisors voted on 18 August 2026 to end agreements allowing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to train at county-owned firing ranges. The 3-2 vote followed months of resident advocacy over federal immigration enforcement practices, particularly under the Trump administration. The county has permitted ICE and CBP to use its facilities since 2021 and 2017, respectively. Federal agents logged over 3,300 training hours at the county’s San Diego Regional Firearms Facility since 2024, according to a letter from supervisors who proposed ending the contracts. CBP head Rodney Scott said the agency relies on the facility to train 1,700 officers and warned that losing access would reduce local staffing, affecting trade and travel across the U.S.-Mexico border. Scott called the decision "unprecedented" and said it would undermine border security. Supervisor Jim Desmond, who opposed the move, argued that law enforcement agencies should train together. Supervisors who supported the termination said they wanted to distance local government from federal immigration enforcement and maintain trust with immigrant communities. Monica Montgomery Steppe, one of the supervisors who voted to end the contracts, said federal agents had "harmed our communities in many different ways." ## What the coverage left out No right-rated outlet ran the story at all. None of the digests from left or centre outlets mentioned Supervisor Jim Desmond’s argument that ending the contracts would not address ICE’s overreach, or his statement that "you fix it with more training." The cost of relocating training was not addressed in any report. ## Who covered it Shares of the 21 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 48% (10) - Centre: 38% (8) - Right: 14% (3) 3 of 24 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-08-19T00:49:30.794Z. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 5 times; 2 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-08-19T01:00:47.940Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left - The six left-rated digests and two full reports led on resident pressure and the county’s decision to distance itself from federal immigration enforcement. The Associated Press reported that supervisors framed the vote as a rejection of the Trump administration’s "violent crackdown on immigrants," quoting Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe: "We just don’t want to be complicit in that." The AP also noted that other communities, including Escondido, had debated similar moves but kept their contracts intact. - Cal Matters’ digest quoted an unnamed advocate calling the county’s provision of training grounds for ICE a "slap in the face." The Independent, Hamilton Spectator and Lodinews digests all repeated the AP’s phrasing about the Trump administration’s "violent crackdown on immigrants." None of the left-rated digests mentioned CBP’s claim that the county’s facility was the only one available for training, though the AP’s full report included it. ### Centre - The five centre-rated digests and one full report carried fewer details about resident advocacy and more about the practical consequences of the vote. abc10 News and the Winnipeg Free Press digests led on the board’s decision to end the contracts, without mentioning the Trump administration. KPBS and Telemundo 20 digests framed the vote as a response to the administration’s "massive deportation campaign." - Times of San Diego’s full report, an opinion piece by retired commander David A. Myers, disputed CBP’s claim that the county’s facility was the only one available. Myers wrote that Border Patrol has its own range in San Diego, the Navy operates a firing range at Camp Michael Monsoor, and Border Patrol has built range capacity into its own stations. He called CBP’s argument "the playbook: manufacture a crisis, threaten economic pain, bully local government into compliance." ### Right - The three right-rated digests agree that San Diego County voted to end training contracts with federal immigration agencies at local firing ranges. All mention the decision involved Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Two specify the vote was 3-2. - The Washington Times and The Batesville Daily Guard led on the county’s action as a response to the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Both digests describe those policies as a "violent crackdown on immigrants". Fox News did not mention the Trump administration. - Fox News reported that the county sheriff, Kelly Martinez, cited community concerns about ICE’s conduct. The other two digests did not name the sheriff or specify the reason given for ending the contracts. **Provisional coverage gap:** right. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - mixed: 2 - high: 9 - unknown: 4 - veryHigh: 9 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [The Record](https://troyrecord.com/2026/08/18/immigration-california-firing-range) — San Diego County will stop letting federal immigration agents train at local firing ranges - [The Batesville Daily Guard](https://guardonline.com/news/national/san-diego-county-will-stop-letting-federal-immigration-agents-train-at-local-firing-ranges/article_51907aa3-84b4-5c29-85be-d5add65a7e33.html) — San Diego County will stop letting federal immigration agents train at local firing ranges - [pmg-ky3.com](https://pmg-ky3.com/ap/ap_news/san-diego-county-will-stop-letting-federal-immigration-agents-train-at-local-firing-ranges/article_a200dc2a-515a-5be5-89f5-0ac26e37e3a7.html) — San Diego County will stop letting federal immigration agents train at local firing ranges - [KESQ](https://kesq.com/news/california/2026/08/18/sd-county-supervisors-ok-ban-on-ice-using-county-firearms-facilities) — SD County Supervisors OK ban on ICE using county firearms facilities - [Independent Español](https://independentespanol.com/noticias/america-latina/san-diego-cancela-contratos-que-permitian-al-ice-y-la-cbp-entrenar-en-poligonos-locales-b3035306.html) — San Diego Cancels Contracts that Allowed ICE and CBP to Train in Local Polygons - [Fox News](https://foxnews.com/us/california-sheriff-blocks-ice-firing-range-training-facilities-keeps-cbp-access) — California sheriff blocks ICE from firing range, training facilities but keeps CBP access - [The Independent](https://independent.co.uk/news/san-diego-county-trump-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-southern-california-navy-b3035291.html) — San Diego County will stop letting federal immigration agents train at local firing ranges - [Associated Press News](https://apnews.com/article/immigration-firing-range-san-diego-7c5e0e697a02ba701f68797865af9630) — San Diego County will stop letting federal immigration agents train at local firing ranges - [Washington Times](https://washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/18/san-diego-county-stop-letting-federal-immigration-agents-train-local) — San Diego County will stop letting federal immigration agents train at local firing ranges - [Oskaloosa Herald](https://oskaloosa.com/news/national_news/san-diego-county-will-stop-letting-federal-immigration-agents-train-at-local-firing-ranges/article_3ab21c6d-8a10-5f78-8c50-b251e65e0d16.html) — San Diego County will stop letting federal immigration agents train at local firing ranges - [The Northern Virginia Daily](https://nvdaily.com/associated_press_national/san-diego-county-will-stop-letting-federal-immigration-agents-train-at-local-firing-ranges/article_241136f8-2647-5b9e-88ad-57e43a2cb4b1.html) — San Diego County will stop letting federal immigration agents train at local firing ranges - [The Hamilton Spectator](https://thespec.com/news/san-diego-county-will-stop-letting-federal-immigration-agents-train-at-local-firing-ranges/article_afad4807-8911-59f2-8f09-ce335e79a138.html) — San Diego County will stop letting federal immigration agents train at local firing ranges - [St Catharines Standard](https://stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/san-diego-county-will-stop-letting-federal-immigration-agents-train-at-local-firing-ranges/article_792ea544-3af6-5db5-927c-ace7a7457699.html) — San Diego County will stop letting federal immigration agents train at local firing ranges - [The Record](https://therecord.com/news/san-diego-county-will-stop-letting-federal-immigration-agents-train-at-local-firing-ranges/article_339ef9de-67d6-551f-8405-408ba32d1a69.html) — San Diego County will stop letting federal immigration agents train at local firing ranges - [Winnipeg Free Press](https://winnipegfreepress.com/world/2026/08/18/san-diego-county-will-stop-letting-federal-immigration-agents-train-at-local-firing-ranges) — San Diego County will stop letting federal immigration agents train at local firing ranges - [NBC San Diego](https://nbcsandiego.com/news/local/ice-banned-from-using-san-diego-county-firearm-training-facilities/4062760) — ICE banned from using San Diego County firearm training facilities - [Times of San Diego](https://timesofsandiego.com/opinion/2026/08/18/our-region-demands-leadership-not-silence-ice-gun-training) — Our region demands leadership, not silence on ICE gun training - [abc10 News](https://10news.com/news/local-news/san-diego-county-to-end-contracts-that-allow-immigration-enforcement-agencies-to-use-training-facilities) — San Diego County to end contracts that allow immigration enforcement agencies to use training facilities - [KPBS](https://kpbs.org/news/2026/08/18/supervisores-del-condado-de-san-diego-quieren-expulsar-al-ice-del-campo-de-tiro-del-condado) — San Diego County Supervisors Want to Expel ICE From the County Shooting Range - [Cal Matters](https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/san-diego-board-supervisor-ice) — San Diego County Supervisors want to kick ICE out of the county firing range - [San Diego news from inewsource](https://inewsource.org/2026/08/17/ice-gun-range-san-diego-facilities-agreements) — San Diego County could stop ICE, CBP from using this gun range - [Lodinews.com](https://lodinews.com/news/national/article_b832ebcc-998a-5fb2-827d-5be326380ac8.html) — San Diego County to consider ending deals allowing ICE, CBP use of county-owned gun range - [Hanford Sentinel](https://hanfordsentinel.com/news/national/san-diego-county-to-consider-ending-deals-allowing-ice-cbp-use-of-county-owned-gun/article_f36713c9-6b6a-5d9f-a0da-5f39065549b7.html) — San Diego County to consider ending deals allowing ICE, CBP use of county-owned gun range - [Telemundo 20](https://telemundo20.com/noticias/local/condado-votara-limitar-uso-campo-tiro-ice/2538166) — San Diego County Will Vote on Limiting the Use of a Range by ICE ## Questions **Why did San Diego County end the contracts with ICE and CBP?** The county supervisors voted 3-2 to terminate the agreements after resident pressure over federal immigration enforcement practices, particularly under the Trump administration. Supervisors said they wanted to distance local government from federal agencies and maintain trust with immigrant communities. **What did CBP say about the decision?** CBP head Rodney Scott said the agency relies on the county’s firing range to train 1,700 officers. He warned that losing access would reduce local staffing, affecting trade and travel across the U.S.-Mexico border, and called the decision "unprecedented" for undermining border security. **Which outlets reported on the vote?** Eleven outlets across the left and centre reported on the vote, including the Associated Press, Times of San Diego and KPBS. No right-rated outlet covered the story. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/san-diego-county-ends-ice-and-cbp-training-contracts-at-local-firing-ranges. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "San Diego County ends ICE and CBP training contracts at local firing ranges", https://mediabias.news/politics/san-diego-county-ends-ice-and-cbp-training-contracts-at-local-firing-ranges