News / Articles

Guest Speaker: Krystle Johnson, Detention Resistance; Signal name is KELP, detentionresistance@gmail.com  

Beryl welcomed Krystle to our meeting today. Krystle is the Volunteer Coordinator for Detention Resistance and the Remote Coordinator for the San Diego Federal Courthouse and Immigration Court. She also volunteers with We're All We Got, a food distribution group. Beryl stated that she is also running for the Lemon Grove City Council. 

Detention Resistance/DR has been around since pre-Covid as an abolitionist collaborative, working to get the Otay Detention Center closed. They now accompany persons coming into the Federal Court Building for asylum hearings and help and support families including finding an attorney for them.  DR uses the court observer reports to watch for trends and track ICE.  From the notes, DR learns what is done that is successful in court. ICE has their office space on the 2nd floor but now they are detaining people outside the court rooms on the 4th floor as they leave their hearings. Detention volunteers can be on the 4th floor hallways where it is legal to record, take photos, and document what it going on.  They are now a regular presence at the courthouse to inform people, to give guidance and to accompany. They collaborate with FAITH, a group of religious organizations such as Our Lady of Guadalupe that come to show support and pray with those who want this. FAITH has a training planned this coming Friday. Since May 2025 many groups are holding regular protests outside the courthouse on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Recently the Office of Immigration has reported that the San Diego courthouse is the 19th busiest in the country and is 4th in the number of courthouse arrests. They are now seeing 10-11 arrests daily; most are men and many are Haitians. In just the month of October DR documented 100 detained persons at our downtown courthouse. Training by DR is on Saturdays at 11:00 a.m.

Detention Resistance works to inform the community and families about what is going on. Of late they are seeing more “no shows”, often these are cases from 10-20 years back. Some of these no shows happen because folks have moved and addresses are not updated and court letters are not received. Other people have lost track of their attorney.  Some are not showing up out of fear. DR works to inform families that not showing up can bring on an automatic deportation. They advise families to do a risk assessment and prepare with some decision making about showing up or not. 

In August ICE started mailing or handing out “call in letters” for people to come to the courthouse where they are given wrist or ankle monitors. These devices bring shame and often lead to job loss. Some of these people end up in detention as well.  At times volunteers see detaining of folks happening on the 2nd floor as well as on the 4th floor where the courts are located. They do observations on the 2nd floor too but they cannot enter the interview session. They sometimes help watching kids while the parents are being interviewed.  DR can document if the detained person is sent to the “basement” of the courthouse building where they are now being housed. As of late they are seeing fewer folks sent to Otay Mesa Detention Center but many are going down to the basement (a temporary holding center in the Federal Building). Recently Congressmen Scott Peters and Juan Vargas tried to enter the basement to investigate but were not allowed entry. Both representatives also stated that fewer detainees are showing up at Otay. DR is now seeing a change in tactics with ICE going to the USCIS office where immigrants do a “check-in”.  ICE is taking those people directly to the Federal Courthouse Building where they are detained, often down to the basement. They believe this change happened because others/observers cannot enter the USCIS building without appointments. This tactic has now made these regular check-ins dangerous. 

Krystle welcomes volunteers; there are many ways to help: greet folks and talk about “planning”, accompany folks, hallway monitors, remote support, observe court sessions, etc. You can email Krystle directly or go to www.detentionresistance.com. She noted that they do need monetary donations. They are not a registered non-profit, do not have grants, they just focus very grass-roots, fundraising and use Venmo. Needs are increasing for rent money and food for the families of those being arrested. 

Discussion

• Asked if they collaborated with CLUE (a clergy group in Los Angeles) but Krystle did not know of them. Apparently, they do similar work to DR but in the LA area.  

• A DR courtroom observer asked if the notes they take are helpful.   Krystle replied they are very important as it shows trends and provides history on no shows too. She noted that one can take a phone into a courtroom but cannot use it there. Krystle said they do collaborate with the Haitian Alliance, especially helpful with translations. 

• Another committee member asked if one can get in trouble for what they might say. Krystle said if it is considered a distraction, the person/volunteer is removed; she advises not to antagonize. 

• Federal Protection Services in the Federal building can clarify if a behavior or rule is ok or not because ICE doesn't always give volunteers the right advice.  She noted that DR is not focused on doing protests but is focused on accompaniment and documenting. Protesters have the safety of free speech.

• DR does not have bond money for persons who might be arrested. 

• Another question came up regarding families of detainees, who are mostly men. Krystle stated that as families are left behind, DR tries to inform them and help them coordinate their return to their home, in some cases. Those detainees with attorneys who can ask the attorney to go to the basement and get more information for the family. Those who have family members at Otay Mesa Detention Center, can visit them but must call to set up a visit. 

• A volunteer asked if a family might be intimidated if a volunteer offers help; how can one show support?  FAITH volunteers have buttons and Krystle noted that her group has lanyards; these seem to be helpful although not always available. 

• Asked what “Somos Dias” is and Krystle responded that they are a very new group; about three individuals have shown up. 

• A committee member brought up issues such as needing food, especially cooking oil. It seems some of these specific needs require more collaboration with other groups helping out. Krystle stated that We're All We Got  (www.allwegot.com ) does regular food handouts in City Heights, 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month and they are collaborators. Indivisible and We're All We Got deliver food, diapers, hygiene items and dog food to people.  Having things dropped off may expose people. 

Members recommended the recent Kate Morrissey article on Homeland Security and ICE activities.