By David Myers (photo, top)
May 26, 2026 (El Cajon) — Bill Wells is the mayor of one of the largest refugee resettlement cities in the United States, and he has spent years treating that fact as a political opportunity rather than a sacred trust. City Of El Cajon. He recently announced a lawsuit — drafted by the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute — attacking California’s sanctuary law, as ECM reported. He called it “one of the most important days of my life.”
That sentence is the indictment. The most important day of the mayor of El Cajon’s life is not a budget that lifts a refugee family out of poverty. Not a Chaldean kid sworn in as a citizen. Not a public-safety success his officers can be proud of. It is a press conference with a Trump operative at his shoulder, attacking the laws that protect his own neighbors.
The receipts:
He has misled his own police officers, claiming California is “threatening” them with criminal charges for following SB 54. His own police chief publicly corrected him. iNewsSource reports that incoming Chief Jeremiah Larson said in an emailed statement through a spokesperson, “We do not believe California is threatening felony charges for violations of SB 54.” Larson added that the department has adhered to SB 54, telling iNewsSource, “Someone who commits a crime in El Cajon will be arrested and held accountable under the law. Similarly, if someone is a victim of a crime in El Cajon, we are committed to providing them with the highest level of service and support, regardless of their immigration status.”
- Mayor Wells brought the same anti-sanctuary resolution to council THREE times until he wore down a swing vote.
- El Cajon is the only police department in San Diego County sharing license-plate reader data with agencies in 20+ states. Between January and July 2025, those out-of-state agencies searched El Cajon’s data 574 times using terms like “immigration” and “ICE assist.” Wells called the privacy concerns a “liberal fantasy.” The records say otherwise.
- In the first seven months of 2025, ICE arrested 17 people in El Cajon. Only four had criminal convictions. The “we’re only going after the bad ones” line collapses on contact with the spreadsheet.
- On March 27, 2025, ICE raided a paint shop just outside the city. Among those arrested: Jorge Lopez Leon — former DACA recipient, husband of a U.S. citizen, father of four, mid-process on a green card. His wife arrived with the immigration attorney’s paperwork. It didn’t matter. He was sent to Otay Mesa. Three other workers were deported before they could fight their cases. The general manager who actually broke the law? One year of probation and 50 hours of community service.
- During his 2024 congressional run, debating in a synagogue on the anniversary of October 7, Wells blamed immigrants for the housing crisis and refused to say whether Donald Trump won the 2020 election.
There is nothing more corrosive to a police department than a chief executive who weaponizes false legal threats to bend his officers to his politics. Chief Larson should not have to publicly correct his own mayor on the basics of state law.
El Cajon’s immigrants — Chaldean, Syrian, Afghan, Somali, Latino — did not come here to be a punchline in someone else’s culture war. They came because America said it would protect them. The least their mayor can do is stop helping the people trying to break that promise.
Four actions should be taken:
- Rescind the January 2025 cooperation resolution.
- Terminate all out-of-state ALPR access immediately. Publish 3 years of query logs.
- Independent legal review of the litigation — with a public dollar accounting.
- Voters: pay attention to what is being done in your name.
Clarification: An earlier version of this editorial quoted Chief Larson as stating, “We do not believe California is threatening felony charges for violations of SB 54.” Mayor Wells contacted ECM and stated that the Chief did not say this. The City Manager stated that the quote was taken “out of context.” According to iNewsSource, the Chief did in fact make that statement via an email sent to the media outlet. ECM has added the complete quote for context, as cited by iNewsService.
The opinions in this editorial reflect the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymgazine.org.