San Clemente approves controversial Border Patrol agreement to deploy coastal surveillance cameras

San Clemente’s City Council has approved a proposal to give federal immigration officials broad oversight of the city’s coastline, despite overwhelming public opposition.

Under the agreement, Customs and Border Patrol will be able to install cameras on a hilltop to keep an eye on the city’s waters for incoming panga boats. If people from the panga boats head into the city, federal agents can surveil them in residential neighborhoods. City officials will not have access to the surveillance system or how it’s being used.

The agreement — approved on a 3-1 vote, with one council member abstaining — comes even as city officials have acknowledged there hasn’t been a rise in panga boat landings within city limits.

As next steps, the city manager will enter into a lease with Customs and Border Patrol giving them access to the land to install the camera.

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Details of the agreement 

City leaders directed the city manager to enter into a lease agreement with Customs and Border Patrol for a five-year term, with three five-year renewal options. Federal immigration agents will also pay a one-time fee of $10 to the city and cover electricity costs.

Public opposition

San Clemente residents mostly spoke out against entering into the lease, with many citing privacy concerns.

“ The federal government is demanding a black box operation on our soil. They're asking for a platform to monitor our coastline with zero local oversight,” resident Robin Seymour said at the council meeting.

Another resident, Chelsea Sanchez, said she’s concerned as the daughter of immigrant parents.

“Given that racial profiling is a common tactic of these agencies, how can you guarantee that someone who looks like me won't be swept up in something like this?” she said.

Mark Enmeier, the sole voice of dissent on the dais, also raised concerns with the agreement’s lack of oversight in how the surveillance data will be used.

In the city report, officials said CBP “has stated the system would be configured to avoid scanning residential areas that fall into the scan viewshed.” However, city officials said Tuesday night that the agency “can't commit contractually to not surveilling anything inside the city limits of San Clemente or inside the residential area.”

Other cities with agreements with federal immigration 

The city of Glendale ended a 20-year contract with Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement that allowed the agency to use its jails after coming under pressure when immigration enforcement ramped up in Southern California last summer.

Customs and Border Patrol also has an agreement with San Diego County that gives agents access to personal data in a San Diego Association of Governments database.