The University of California San Diego (UCSD) is among a network of California law enforcement agencies collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to monitor border activity, a practice that continues despite the state’s sanctuary law protections. For approximately 20 nights annually, UCSD police supplement their routine campus patrols with surveillance along the coastlines of La Jolla, Black’s Beach, and Torrey Pines, funded through DHS overtime pay.
The university’s participation in the federal Operation Stonegarden program, which allocates $10.9 million annually to dozens of California police agencies to assist the Border Patrol, has been ongoing under both Democratic and Republican administrations. This collaboration persists even after California passed Senate Bill 34 in 2017, legislation designed to limit cooperation between local law enforcement and immigration authorities.
UCSD’s involvement in Stonegarden comes at a time of heightened border enforcement by the U.S. Border Patrol. The university now cautions students about the location of Border Patrol checkpoints on its website. Last year, dozens of students had their visas revoked, and at least one was detained at the border, according to reports.
Thus far, the UCSD Stonegarden program has not faced significant public criticism. Police departments typically use the funding to cover overtime pay for officers conducting operations for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency. The money also finances a range of surveillance equipment, including search cameras, devices transmitting data, facial recognition software, and license plate readers. Three California counties – Imperial, San Diego, and Riverside – accept the grant and distribute funds to local law enforcement.
California is one of five sanctuary states – alongside New York, Washington, Vermont, and Minnesota – participating in Stonegarden, along with 18 other states and territories. California receives the third-largest amount of Stonegarden funding, trailing only Texas and Arizona.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican candidate for governor, stated that California’s sanctuary law should be renamed the “California Criminal Protection Act,” but also asserted that his department’s participation in Stonegarden does not violate the law. Bianco expressed pride in his department’s collaboration with the Border Patrol, arguing that providing local police resources through Operation Stonegarden allows federal agencies to dedicate more resources to immigration enforcement and border security.
The California Attorney General’s Office, under Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta, stated it could not assess whether Stonegarden grants violate the state’s sanctuary law. Representatives indicated that the law permits state and local agencies to collaborate with federal agencies in joint task forces, provided the primary focus of those task forces is not immigration enforcement.
While local agencies carry out the operations, the public lacks access to information regarding Operation Stonegarden activity. Following an operation, police submit an activity report to the Border Patrol detailing their border control actions, field interviews, arrests, and citations, along with any other relevant information. These reports are not accessible to the public.
A public information officer at the UCSD police department indicated that once activity reports are submitted to DHS, they remain accessible to the department but cannot be edited. Several police departments informed CalMatters that while they retain access to the reports, they cannot release them through public records requests, as they become federal property upon entry into the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN). This database is available to DHS and its international and private sector partners, but not to the public.
However, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department did provide several reports through a California Public Records Act request. These reports reveal that during Stonegarden operations in 2023 and 2024, the department conducted frequent traffic stops in collaboration with Border Patrol personnel. Most of these stops did not result in arrests, citations, or drug seizures, but rather in “intelligence development,” meaning federal intelligence was gathered from interactions between civilians and police, even when no crime was committed.
Scanning San Diego’s Waterways
Sergeant Patrick Dobbins, who oversees Stonegarden expenditures for the UCSD police department, stated that the patrols fall under the university’s purview. During these patrols, the department monitors the university’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where nearly 6,000 students study marine and earth sciences.
“The activity is focused on the coastline,” Dobbins said. “It’s not on the main campus, but it is campus property.” Dobbins added that the department has received the grant for over a decade.
Dobbins stated that his department would conduct similar patrols in those areas “whether with Stonegarden funding or not,” adding that the grant allows for more patrols that are more visible, longer in duration, and do not divert university funds. The grant also covers vehicle fuel costs.
The UCSD website notes that Border Patrol stations exist in San Diego County and that the university cannot predict when they will be active. The site also states that the UC Police Department will not cooperate with federal immigration agents to remove students from campus.
According to Dobbins, and operational reports published online, campus officers search for pangas, open-fishing boats frequently used for border crossings. Dobbins stated that panga crossings pose significant safety risks to those onboard. In November, a panga capsized off the coast of San Diego, resulting in the deaths of four migrants, according to the Los Angeles Times. A survivor of the accident was detained by federal immigration agents.
Dobbins added that the UCSD police department focuses on safety and security rather than immigration enforcement. “We are prohibited from even asking about immigration status or enforcing immigration law. So that’s not part of our functions, and we don’t even ask about it,” he said, adding that this has been recently emphasized.
Stonegarden strengthens communication between university police and agencies like the Coast Guard to help respond to crises they cannot resolve alone, Dobbins said.
In addition to coastal surveillance, UCSD police conduct a few patrols each year on Interstate 5 to detect vehicles transporting narcotics. These patrols serve as a deterrent to criminal activity, Dobbins stated.
Mitigating Border Crime Generates Controversy
Stonegarden grant documents from the Biden administration show the program is designed to combat crimes related to the border. FEMA defines this crime as either human trafficking, narcotics or weapons of mass destruction trafficking, or simply illegal border crossings.
A 2024 grant document for Imperial County states that law enforcement should detain all “criminal aliens” they believe are entering the country illegally. The Biden administration document also establishes that increased law enforcement under Stonegarden should ideally reduce border incursions.
Tracy Rosenberg, who has investigated Stonegarden for Oakland Privacy, a privacy advocacy group, explained that the grant’s focus is on drug trafficking and immigration arrests. According to FEMA, Stonegarden’s success is measured by three statistics: the number of participating agencies, overtime hours, and arrests.
“There’s nothing about crime prevention or violence prevention,” Rosenberg said. “It’s just: how many people did you arrest and how many drugs did you seize?”
Several agencies across the country have quietly withdrawn from Stonegarden over the years, citing concerns about racial profiling, protection of asylum seekers, and risks to Latino communities. An Arizona sheriff withdrew from the grant following the arrival of President Donald Trump in 2025, fearing his department would contribute to mass deportations.
“It’s clear you don’t get the money unless you agree to cooperate with the Border Patrol in certain ways,” Rosenberg said. She added that California sheriffs appear to believe they can enforce California’s sanctuary law and cooperate with the Border Patrol simultaneously.
Surveillance Tools
Records of equipment purchased with Stonegarden grants, part of operational order reports the public is not meant to see, are claimed exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. Some local governments have published them anyway, revealing purchases such as laptops with mobile data, GPS trackers, camera systems, drones, patrol vehicles, and license plate readers.
UCSD police acquired night vision binoculars through the grant, according to Dobbins.
Rachel Zaetz, senior director of communications for the UC Board of Regents, stated via email that the regents are not required to approve Stonegarden acquisitions for UC police departments. Dobbins indicated that the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department awards the grant to the UCSD police department.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital privacy organization, urged the Trump administration to end Operation Stonegarden in a January 2025 memo. The foundation argued that technology companies manipulate police into seeking Stonegarden funding and purchasing surveillance technology they do not need or will not use.
In 2021, SAFE Boats, a boat manufacturer, published a promotional bulletin on its website about National Security Grant opportunities. Pelco, a surveillance and security company, maintains a blog dedicated to encouraging police to apply for Stonegarden funds, offering grant application assistance and a catalog of its border security cameras.
Local ordinances passed by elected officials can regulate surveillance technology used by smaller police forces, said Dave Maass, a senior investigations director for the digital privacy organization. He added that state universities are only subject to regulations approved by the university systems as a whole or by the state legislature.
“Students don’t get to vote for who runs the university,” Maass said. “Unfortunately, it’s not a democracy. So students don’t have a lot of power to decide what rules affect them.”
