Local leaders and members of the community gathered in National City for the first ever Cafe Con Leche Community Breakfast panel, hosted by La Prensa San Diego in conjunction with immigrant-rights group Border Angels.

The event, held yesterday at National City’s Papa Gallo Café & Bar, counted with the presence of Enrique Morones, founder and director of Border Angels, and San Diego Border Patrol Chief Rick Barlow. La Prensa San Diego Publisher Art Castañares served as host and moderator of the event.

During the event, topics ranging from immigration reform to the ethics of deportation were discussed in a venue where community members were able to voice their opinion and ask questions directly to people at the forefront of these issues.

Some of the most commonly asked questions involved rumors of immigration checkpoints and raids, which Barlow assured are not conducted by his agents.

Mark Endicott, public affairs officer for the U.S. Border Patrol, clarified that Border Patrol’s only checkpoints lay on the region’s main roadways, such as Interstates 5, 8, and 15, not in city streets and neighborhoods.

La Prensa San Diego’s next Cafe con Leche Community Panel will be on July 20.