Over the past year, the number of people in ICE detention has increased by about 59 percent, from about 37,395 in September 2024 to 59,762 last month.
Deportations have increased, too, with 527,000 removals reportedly conducted since Trump began his second term.
“The Trump Administration is on pace to shatter historic records,” White House spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in an October statement, celebrating the uptick.
California is among the states that Trump has threatened with a federal troop deployment, as he seeks to carry out his deportation drive, as well as a crackdown on crime.
Already, he sent 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in June as a response to protests against his immigration policies.
Earlier this month, he was also poised to send military forces to San Francisco, though he ultimately called off the “surge” for now.
About six hours south of San Francisco, the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara is among the institutions suspending this year’s Calenda Día de los Muertos, a traditional procession.
In the past, the event has featured music and dances from the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, as well as an altar for the dead and Oaxacan cuisine.
But this year, Dalia Garcia, the museum’s executive director, told Al Jazeera that organisers could not guarantee that the event would be safe, given that it takes place in an open street.