Jim Desmond Had A History Of Disparaging Immigrants, Making False Claims About Immigrants, And Reposting Extreme Anti-Immigrant Content From Far-Right Outlets

Desmond Made Disparaging Comments About Immigrants, Including Comparing Them To Sewage Coming Into The U.S.

2025: Desmond Compared Immigrants To Sewage Coming Into The U.S.

VIDEO: 2025: Desmond Said Stopping The Flow Of Sewage Was “Just Like The Border. So Many People Coming Across The Border, We Had To Stop The Flow.” DESMOND: “Really the focus, yes treating the sewage with a Veolia plant but stopping the flow. We gotta stop. Just like the border. So many people coming across the border, we had to stop the flow.” [Supervisor Jim Desmond, Instagram, 4/22/25] (VIDEO)

Desmond Said He Met With EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin To Discuss The “Millions Of Gallons Of Toxic Sewage [That] Have Flowed From Mexico Into U.S. Waters.” “Starting a critical meeting with EPA

Administrator Lee Zeldin this morning to finally address the Tijuana Sewage Crisis. For decades, millions of gallons of toxic sewage have flowed from Mexico into U.S. waters — and it’s time to end it. We must hold Mexico accountable. No more excuses. No more delays. I’ll be sharing takeaways and next steps soon — stay tuned.” [Jim Desmond, Instagram, 4/22/25]

Image: see original report, p. 36

[Supervisor Jim Desmond, Instagram, 4/22/25]

2024: Desmond Said Migrants Arriving By Boat Were “Ghosts”

May 2024: In Discussing Migrants Arriving By Boat, Desmond Said, “We Have No Idea What They Are Doing. They’re Ghosts.” “Most migrants who enter illegally by land immediately surrender to authorities and request asylum. Those arriving via boat, in contrast, typically speed away in waiting vehicles. ‘The big concern for us is we have absolutely no idea who these people are,’ said San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, a Republican. ‘We have no idea what they are doing. They’re ghosts.’” [Wall Street Journal, 5/11/24]

Desmond: “In California, We Are Laying Out The Red Carpet And Welcome Mat For Illegal Immigrants To Cross The Border.” “Desmond said he thinks a 2017 California law limiting when local law enforcement can work with federal immigration authorities is helping drive the beach arrivals. He said even if local law enforcement officers were on the scene, they wouldn’t be able to arrest migrants whose only known crime was entering the U.S. illegally. ‘In California, we are laying out the red carpet and welcome mat for illegal immigrants to cross the border,’ Desmond said.” [Wall Street Journal, 5/11/24]

2024: After Trump’s Election, Desmond Said, “I’m Looking Forward To Not Having Hundreds Of Thousands Of Unchecked People From Around The World Being Dropped In The Streets Of San Diego County”

November 2024: In Discussing Trump’s Reelection, Desmond Said, “I’m Looking Forward To Not Having Hundreds Of Thousands Of Unchecked People From Around The World Being Dropped In The Streets Of San Diego County.” “In mid-September, county Supervisor Jim Desmond told lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee in Washington that the arrival of so many migrants has strained the county’s resources and raised concerns about how people entering the country were being screened for security threats. Now that Trump has been re-elected, Desmond said those concerns will likely subside. ‘I’m looking forward to not having hundreds of thousands of unchecked people from around the world being dropped in the streets of San Diego County,’ he said Friday in a statement. ‘I’m looking forward to not having boats being driven up upon our beaches and dozens of unchecked people from around the world walking into our neighborhoods.’” [San Diego Union-Tribune, 11/10/24]

San Diego Union-Tribune Headline: “‘We Are Very Scared’: Fear Grips Migrant Families On Both Sides Of The Border Over Trump Deportations.” [San Diego Union-Tribune, 11/10/24]

Desmond Falsely Claimed County Funds Paid For Supplies At A Migrant Holding Site And Amplified False Claims About Immigrants And Terrorists Crossing Into The U.S.

2024: Desmond Falsely Claimed County Funds Paid For Tents, Food, And Other Items At The Jacumba Migrant Holding Site And Later Said He Was Mistaken

January 3, 2024: Desmond Said San Diego County Taxpayers Paid For Tents, Food, Drinks, And Campfires At A Holding Site For Migrants At The Border. “During my recent border visit, I encountered an abandoned campsite filled with tents, food, drinks, and campfires paid for by the San Diego County taxpayers. The site is used as a temporary holding site before migrants are then processed into our country. There wasn't a person in sight, but items were scattered throughout the area.” [Supervisor Jim Desmond, Twitter, 1/3/24]

Image: see original report, p. 37

[Supervisor Jim Desmond, Twitter, 1/3/24]

KPBS Said Desmond’s Tweet That San Diego Taxpayers Were Paying For Migrant Encampments Was “A False Statement.” “San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond is again facing criticism for misleading rhetoric regarding migrants at the San Diego border. Desmond was forced to issue a correction Thursday on a Tweet that incorrectly stated county taxpayers were footing the bill for tents, food and water at open-air migrant encampments in Jacumba. ‘During my recent border visit, I encountered an abandoned campsite filled with tents, food, drinks, and campfire paid for by the San Diego County taxpayers,’ he wrote in the Tweet Wednesday that as of Friday had nearly 200,000 views on the social media platform X. That’s a false statement. Though the county has allocated $6 million to fund a migrant welcome center in San Diego, zero taxpayer dollars have been spent on humanitarian aid at the open-air encampments in Jacumba and San Ysidro.” [KPBS, 1/5/24]

KPBS Headline: “Desmond Under Fire For Inaccurate Tweet On Migrant Camp Funding.” [KPBS, 1/5/24]

January 4, 2024: Desmond Said He “Mistakenly” Said San Diego County Taxpayer Dollars Were Being Spent On Items For Migrant Encampments In Jacumba But Acknowledged “That Was Not True.” “In a recent Tweet, I mistakenly said San Diego County taxpayer dollars were being spent on tents, food, and other items migrant encampments in Jacumba. That was not true. San Diego County taxpayers are paying for processing migrants once they're dropped off at a central location in San Diego at approximately $1.5 million a month.” [Supervisor Jim Desmond, Twitter, 1/4/24]

Image: see original report, p. 38

[Supervisor Jim Desmond, Twitter, 1/4/24]

Desmond: “San Diego County Taxpayers Are Paying For Processing Migrants Once They're Dropped Off At A Central Location In San Diego At Approximately $1.5 Million A Month.” “In a recent Tweet, I mistakenly said San Diego County taxpayer dollars were being spent on tents, food, and other items migrant encampments in Jacumba. That was not true. San Diego County taxpayers are paying for processing migrants once they're dropped off at a central location in San Diego at approximately $1.5 million a month.” [Supervisor Jim Desmond, Twitter, 1/4/24]

Desmond’s Communications Director Said The Inaccurate Tweet Was His Fault. “Desmond wasn’t in his office Thursday when activists from the collective showed up with their receipts. But his communications director, Miles Himmel, was. The exchange was caught on video. Himmel took responsibility for the inaccurate Tweet and promised to issue a correction — which he did later that day. ‘That’s my fault,’ he said. ‘I wrote the caption.’ Activists told Himmel it was important to issue a correction because spreading misinformation on such a divisive topic could put them in danger. ‘We’ve had people get hate messages because there are people that feel differently about this,’ an activist said.” [KPBS, 1/5/24]

Advocates Who Covered The Cost Of Food And Other Items For Migrants Brought Receipts To Desmond’s Office In Protest. “Advocates who’ve been covering costs for the care of migrants made their displeasure with Desmond public on Thursday. They showed up in Desmond’s office at the County Administration Building with proof of their support. Members of the Free Stuff Collective brought receipts totaling more than $60,000. They cover necessities from peanut butter, bananas and cups of ramen noodles to water bottles and chapstick. The advocates chanted ‘shame, shame,’ as they marched to Desmond’s office.” [KPBS, 1/5/24]

2024: Desmond Reposted A Tweet From A Known Misinformation Account About Immigration

December 2024: Desmond Reposted A Tweet From “Leading Report” About Alleged Spending On Undocumented Immigrants. “[Desmond:] Families are barely making it in California, but there’s plenty of money for illegal immigrants… [Leading Report:] BREAKING: United States taxpayers paid $150.7 billion in 2023 to support illegal immigrants, per DOGE.” [Jim Desmond, Twitter, 12/4/24]

Image: see original report, p. 39

[Jim Desmond, Twitter, 12/4/24]

Science Feedback: “Leading Report” Trafficked In Misinformation And Conspiracy Theories. “Leading Report bills itself as a ‘Leading source for breaking news’ on its X/Twitter account. Registered in May 2022, it has since accrued more than 172,000 followers. Scrolling through its timeline however, it becomes clear that the account traffics in misinformation and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and U.S. politics. Fact-checking organizations, including AFP, Reuters, and PolitiFact (see here, here, here, and here) have, on multiple occasions, found the website propagating inaccurate or misleading information.” [Science Feedback, 10/31/23]

2023: Desmond Amplified Concerns About Hamas Terrorists Entering The U.S. Through The Southern Border, Which A Local Middle East Expert Criticized As “Completely Unhinged”

October 2023: Desmond And Other Republican Politicians Called For A Border Shutdown Over Concerns That Hamas Terrorists Might Enter The Country Illegally. “San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond and other Republican politicians are calling for a border shutdown over concerns that Hamas terrorists may enter the country illegally.” [KPBS, 10/26/23]

The Call For A Border Shutdown Came After Right-Wing Site “The Daily Caller” Published An Unverified Memo Claiming Foreign Fighters May Be At The Southwest Border. “The politicians’ call for a border shutdown came after the right-wing news and opinion website The Daily Caller published an unverified memo from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stating that ‘foreign fighters of Israel-Hamas conflict may potentially be encountered at Southwest Border.’” [KPBS, 10/26/23]

A Customs And Border Patrol Spokesperson Said The Agency Had “Seen No Indication Of Hamas-Directed Foreign Fighters Seeking To Make Entry Into The United States.” “Border officials declined to comment, stating it’s CBP policy to ‘neither confirm nor speak to potentially improperly disclosed information or internal documents.’ But a CBP spokesperson said the agency ‘has seen no indication of Hamas-directed foreign fighters seeking to make entry into the United States.’” [KPBS, 10/26/23]

The Department Of Homeland Security Said It Did Not Have Any Specific And Credible Intelligence About A Threat To The U.S. From The Hamas Terrorist Attacks In Israel. “The Department of Homeland Security also issued a statement this week saying, ‘we do not have specific and credible intelligence indicating a threat to the United States at this time stemming from the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel.’” [KPBS, 10/26/23]

UC San Diego Middle East Expert Michael Provence Called Desmond And The Other Politicians’ Declaration, “Preposterous And Completely Unhinged,” And He Said, “This Is The Very Definition Of Hysteria.” “San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond and other Republican politicians are calling for a border shutdown over concerns that Hamas terrorists may enter the country illegally. But a Middle East expert called their declaration ‘preposterous and completely unhinged.’ ‘This is the very definition of hysteria,’ said Michael Provence, professor of Middle Eastern History at UC San Diego.” [KPBS, 10/26/23]

KPBS Headline: “Expert Calls Desmond’s Plan To Close Border Over Hamas ‘Completely Unhinged.’” [KPBS, 10/26/23]

Provence Pointed Out That Palestinians Could Not Leave Gaza At The Time And Hamas Had Not Made Direct Threats To The U.S. “Provence, who has studied the Middle East region for decades and written several books, pointed to multiple factors to dismiss Desmond’s concerns. The first is that Palestinians cannot leave Gaza right now. ‘If a person in Gaza wanted to get to the southern border, they couldn’t get out of Gaza,’ he said. ‘It’s completely ringed in by the Israelis. So, it would be physically impossible.’ Second, Hamas has not made direct threats to the United States. ‘Its entire existence is based on opposition to Israel and Israeli occupation,’ he said. ‘It has nothing to do with the United States, it’s not engaged in the United States, it’s never threatened the United States.’” [KPBS, 10/26/23]

Desmond Dismissed Provence’s Criticisms, Calling Them A Difference Of Opinion. “Desmond dismissed Provence’s criticisms, calling them a difference of opinion. ‘There are many opinions out there, I want to protect the United States,’ he said.” [KPBS, 10/26/23]

2025: Desmond Retweeted A Post From The Goat Initiative That Said Human Smugglers Illegally Entered The U.S. “Today, several human smugglers illegally entered the U.S., stole one of our new cameras & took it back into Mexico. One of the suspects had a handgun in a thigh holster, the other was wearing camouflage combat military fatigues.” [Jim Desmond, Twitter, 1/11/25]

Image: see original report, p. 40

[Jim Desmond, Twitter, 1/11/25]

The Goat Initiative Said Its Mission Was “To Safeguard National Security Along The U.S./Mexico Border Through Comprehensive Intelligence Gathering.” “Our mission is to safeguard national security along the U.S./Mexico border through comprehensive intelligence gathering — identifying Special Interest Aliens (SIAs), known and unknown terrorist risks, suspicious patterns, and potential homeland attack vectors — and delivering actionable insights to local, state, and federal law enforcement partners.” [Goat Initiative, Mission, accessed 5/12/26]

2025: Desmond Retweeted A Post From Disclose.TV About The U.S.-Mexico Border. “[Desmond:] Good. It’s a national security threat. We must protect our borders. [Disclose.tv:] JUST IN - Thousands of additional active-duty troops are being deployed to the southern U.S. border with Mexico — CNN.” [Jim Desmond, Twitter, 1/22/25]

Image: see original report, p. 41

[Jim Desmond, Twitter, 1/22/25]

Disclose.TV Hosted Multiple Channels Featuring Holocaust Denial And Had Millions Of Followers On Far-Right Social Media Networks Like Gettr And Gab. “Germany-based Disclose.TV has millions of followers – on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and far-right social media networks like Gettr and Gab. What began as a conspiracy forum for swapping UFO stories has turned into a popular news aggregator dispensing conspiracy theories and anti-vaccine content, unique not only in its influence but also the way it operates. A new report has shown that Disclose.TV hosted multiple Telegram and Discord channels where ‘hate speech and Holocaust denial’ proliferated. At the same time, experts believe it was also trying to obfuscate its German origin.” [Deutsche Welle, 2/8/22]

2024: Desmond Appeared In A Segment By Border Hawk About Illegal Immigration. “Feds Dump 125,000 Male Illegal Aliens on San Diego Streets in 9 Months San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond has been sounding the alarm about the ongoing invasion of California and the way it is being orchestrated by the Biden-Harris regime. Supervisor Desmond says federal […]” [Jim Desmond, Twitter, 11/19/24]

Image: see original report, p. 41

[Jim Desmond, Twitter, 11/19/24]

Border Hawk Was An Offshoot Of An Umbrella Organization Founded By A White Nationalist. “Border Hawk presents itself as a grassroots organization offering an honest view of the southern border. But the site is

intimately entwined with a long-standing anti-immigrant movement that, until recently, was widely rejected. It was initially an offshoot of U.S., Inc., an umbrella organization founded by John Tanton, an ophthalmologist, environmentalist, and white nationalist who’s been called ‘the architect of the modern-day anti-immigrant movement.’ (Tanton died in 2019.) Border Hawk also shares contributors and staff with VDARE, a virulently anti-immigrant Web site founded by Peter Brimelow, who has described himself as a believer in ‘racial nationalism.’ (Brimelow suspended VDARE this year, after it claimed to be insolvent from paying fines incurred when he refused to comply with a subpoena from the New York attorney general, Letitia James.) Border Hawk is a nonprofit, and cannot endorse political parties or candidates, but the site has consistently depicted the border as out of control, and migrants as criminals and invaders.” [New Yorker, 12/20/24]

2024: Desmond Retweeted A Post From Real America’s Voice That Said It Showed “The Third Group Of Illegals Are Being [sic] Brought In By Joe Biden And The Democrats.” “[Bill Melguin:] Remarkable footage showing migrants heading to a port of entry in Tijuana to enter the US via the CBP One cell phone app, which Biden/Harris have been using to admit roughly 1,500 migrants into the US every single day for the past nearly two years. Nearly 900k since Jan. 2023. [Ben Bergquam – Real America’s Voice:] BREAKING footage from Tijuana Mexico (Happening now)! The third group of illegals are bring [sic] brought in by Joe Biden and the Democrats under the CVP1 app. Everyone you see walking up the ramp is part of it. […]” [Supervisor Jim Desmond, Twitter, 12/26/24]

Image: see original report, p. 42

[Supervisor Jim Desmond, Twitter, 12/26/24]

Real America’s Voice Broadcast Had “A Lineup Of Right-Wing Shows Hosted By Fringe Media Personalities.” “New findings from Media Matters reveal that right-wing news broadcaster Real America’s Voice published QAnon conspiracy theory content on its platform in 2018 and 2019, exposing the outlet as directly propagating QAnon-aligned media. Real America’s Voice broadcasts a lineup of right-wing shows hosted by fringe media personalities, including former Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Gina Loudon, right-wing media personality John Fredericks, and former guest panelist on NBC’s Meet the Press David Brody, among others.” [Media Matters for America, 12/25/21]

Source report (PDF)