Following a CalMatters report that the UC San Diego Police Department received grants from the Department of Homeland Security, the Students’ Civil Liberties Union organized a protest last Thursday.

Around 100 students gathered in front of Geisel Library at 1 p.m., holding posters that read “UC what’s your plan?” and “Blood is shared between us not borders” while chanting slogans like “Stand up fight back” and “No more detention, no more fear, ICE off campus, make it clear.” 

During Week 7, students also rallied against Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity. Last Thursday’s rally focused specifically on a DHS program named Operation Stonegarden that UCSDPD participates in, according to CalMatters. 

Operation Stonegarden funds collaboration between local and federal law enforcement to “secure the United States’ borders along routes of ingress from international borders.” Though the exact amount UCSDPD receives from the grant is not public, agencies across California received over $12 million in total from Stonegarden during the 2024 fiscal year. Several speakers voiced their opposition to UCSDPD receiving grant funding from the DHS. 

Speakers also condemned the potential implementation of automated license plate recognition systems, given that ALPR and other surveillance camera footage can be shared with federal agencies like the DHS. 

“We are concerned that these kinds of grants are hurting the community; they’re hurting community trust in the police on this campus,” SCLU President Aryan Dixit said. “The majority of the involvement comes out of grants that UCSD has been taking with the department through Operation Stonegarden, Urban Near Security Initiative, as well as some other kinds of counterterrorism grants that they provide.”

Melinda Battenberg, associate communications director for Operations Management, Finance and Administration, said to The UCSD Guardian that Stonegarden is the only DHS funding UCSDPD has received. 

According to Battenberg, UCSDPD reviewed its participation in Operation Stonegarden in relation to California’s Senate Bill 54 — which prevents California law enforcement from assisting in immigration operations — and found no violations. “There is not a conflict because they use the funds for countering drug and human trafficking and do not engage in or assist with immigration enforcement,” Battenberg said.

At the rally, Apolo Madrigal, external vice president of Triton Democrats, spoke against the University’s use of surveillance technology and newly installed camera systems. Madrigal said that surveillance cameras were installed around Library Walk following the 2024 Gaza Solidarity Encampment. 

“Even though they presented us with all of these amazing, beautiful opportunities — education, places to live, food to eat — understand that that camera represents that everything you see here can be taken with a snap of a finger,” Madrigal said. “I have one simple thing to say to the UCSDPD: We, as students, will trust you when they decide to trust us.”

Battenberg said that UCSDPD has not participated in Operation Stonegarden patrol activities since 2024, though it accepted the grant in 2025 and 2026. The original CalMatters report states that UCSDPD conducts patrol activities annually, according to quotes from “Sgt. Patrick Dobbins, who oversees Stonegarden spending at UCPD.” The Guardian has not been able to independently verify whether UCSDPD has conducted any Stonegarden patrol operations after 2024. 

“Currently, the UC San Diego Police Department has no plans to reapply for a DHS Operation Stonegarden grant, although a decision on long-term participation in the program has not been made,” Battenberg said.

UCSDPD’s chief of police met with members of the SCLU prior to the rally and Associated Students President William Simpson after the rally to discuss student concerns regarding ALPR systems and DHS funding. UCSDPD has yet to publicly address these student concerns.