The City of Santa Barbara, in partnership with 805 UndocuFund, held an emergency town hall to discuss the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Santa Barbara County on July 15. Attendees overflowed the building, with some leaving unsatisfied by the panel’s answers and a follow up meeting from the council.
The meeting comes after immigration officials arrested over 300 people in an immigration raid at a Camarillo farm. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
The meeting featured a panel including Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse accompanied by the non-profit organization aiming to assist immigrants 805 UndocuFund’s Executive Director Primitiva Hernandez, Police Chief Kelly Gordon and City Administrator Kelly McAdoo, along with an open public comment. The meeting comes after immigration officials arrested over 300 people in an immigration raid at a Camarillo farm the previous Thursday, July 10, along with an eight-hour County Board of Supervisors meeting that was held prior to the town hall.
The town hall was held at the Franklin Neighborhood Center, which reached its maximum capacity of 125 people, resulting in over 100 people listening from outside the building.
Hernandez spoke about a press conference the 805 Immigrant Coalition, another non-profit which aims to support immigrants in both Santa Barbara County (SBC) and surrounding regions, held on June 10, calling for protections from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.).
“Our message and our call was for the Santa Barbara County to work with us for protections for our community,” Hernandez said. “[We] saw what we had warned the county that was going to happen if we didn’t take decisive action, that if we didn’t work together with the organizations on the ground, that it was only a matter of time before our communities and our streets were militarized. And that is exactly what we saw.”
She continued by urging the county to take action before a similar event can reoccur.
“So take this as a warning that we don’t need to wait another 30 days. People, we don’t need to have more deaths. We don’t need to have more pain. We don’t need to have more broken families before we take decisive action even at the city level,” Hernandez continued.
The Franklin Neighborhood Center reached its maximum capacity of 125 people, resulting in over 100 people listening from outside the building. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
According to Hernandez, out of the roughly 360 people who were detained on July 10, only four of them had violent criminal records. She also said many of them have already been deported to detention centers where they go “days without eating” and have limited access to legal representation. Hernandez also mentioned that pregnant women do not receive prenatal care.
Hernandez added that the media is mentioning a “shooter” present in Camarillo, which she claims “didn’t happen.”
Police Chief Gordon then began speaking, stating that her first priority in the community is to “provide public safety” regardless of immigration status. She clarified that the Santa Barbara Police Department (SBPD) “does not participate in immigration enforcement.”
“We don’t work with or assist I.C.E. in any type of immigration enforcement,” Gordon said. “We follow state law. We follow our policy and we follow best practices to make sure that our work protects, not divides our community.”
According to Gordon, SBPD follows the California Values Act, which was put in place in 2017 to ensure local police are “not used as an extension of federal immigration.” However, if police are called to the scene by a community member, they will respond if “there’s a safety concern or a disturbance.”
“Our whole point is to make sure that they are appropriately credentialed federal agents and we’re there to make sure that everything on both sides is lawful,” Gordon said. “We don’t proactively seek out I.C.E. agents or monitor their activity.”
Gordon also said they are “sometimes” notified if I.C.E. will be coming to the community so they are aware that federal officers with guns are present in case a community member calls.
She continued to say if any community member feels unsafe by I.C.E., they can call 911 or SBPD’s dispatch center at 805-882-8900. However, she then said that this may cause “stories in the community” that they’re supporting I.C.E.
“If an I.C.E. [officer] shows up at a community center, a workplace, and for whatever reason the community feels unsafe, they can always call the dispatch center. Now I will say that may also then cause some stories in the community that we’re supporting federal immigration efforts,” she said. “We will respond, but there will probably be stories that we’re cooperating with federal immigration because you will see our uniform with what is also occurring.”
Gordon ended by expressing her sympathy for the community.
“I’m going to just close my remarks with: I understand, but I really don’t,” Gordon said. “I’m committed to making sure that we are all treating all of the community fairly and equitably. And I don’t know that I’ll have all your answers to all your questions, I actually know that I won’t, but I’m here to listen.”
Following Gordon’s conclusion, the public comment portion began, which the panel responded to once all speakers gave comment.
Andi Garcia, a resident of Santa Barbara, began by thanking the panel for being here but asked what took them so long. She said while they are “up in arms” due to the July 10 incident, “this has been going on for a while.” She also mentioned that she and other volunteers have been patrolling neighborhoods “almost every day” to help the community feel more protected.
“Why are we patrolling our own neighborhoods? We do [it] because we care,” Garcia said. “I’m a little brown kid from a rich city, born and raised here, right here in this community. And a lot of us are doing the patrolling, and we’re happy to do it … but we want to hear what you’re going to do.”
Katarina, a graduate student at UC Santa Barbara and a member of the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) 4811, asked the council what “concrete steps” they will take to protect undocumented and international students from I.C.E. and visa verifications.
“The UC has not taken much action to protect undocumented or international students either at the undergraduate or the graduate level up to now,” she said. “Specifically, I want to know what the city council proposed to do to prevent raids in classrooms [and] in workplaces.”
Fourth-year economics major Bryan Campos Coline Anise and member of El Congreso, a student-led activist organization on campus, read a statement highlighting the struggles of immigrants and all marginalized people, as well as urging the council to protect the community.
“We face a xenophobic regime rewritten by different hands, but with the same type of pen. A regime that thrives on the system of oppression imposed on those who are here within our borders,” he said. “I urge you to push yourself in the front lines to protect the community you swore to protect. Please, you see all of us here inside and outside have gathered around to take the time out of their day to be here.”
After public comment, Gordon clarified that SBPD “can’t investigate the federal government,” which increased tension among the crowd.
“I know you want us to be able to do that, but we don’t have the authority to do that,” Gordon said.
“Well what can you do? What can you do to help us?” someone from the crowd shouted out in response.
City Councilmember Wendy Santamaria spoke on how I.C.E. reportedly took two families who were dropping their children off at a charter school.
“I am appalled and full of anger that this is happening in our community, but we need to remain calm and make sure that we are doing something tangible,” Santamaria said.
By the end of the meeting, Hernandez suggested actions the city could take, which include declaring an emergency proclamation, having police officers give out “know your rights” cards and give more funding towards nonprofit groups that help assist undocumented immigrants.
The council unanimously agreed to schedule a meeting to take further action and work with 805 UndocuFund, which has yet to be scheduled.
Following this meeting, the Goleta City Council unanimously voted to fund $100,000 to immigration support services such as legal aid and financial assistance to families separated by I.C.E. The money will go to the Human Services Committee for them to determine how it will be allocated.
During this meeting, community members speaking at public comment claimed they have seen I.C.E. agents at local businesses including a 7/11 and laundromats.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney John T. Savrnoch similarly affirmed that community members are free to call 911 if they feel at danger. However, they are unable to interfere with I.C.E.
“We also can’t stop it, we can’t interfere with it either, but we will continue to do our job in the way that California requires us to do and that is with respect for everyone that calls Santa Barbara County home,” he said.
Who’s gonna clean my pool?
Who’s gonna detail my car?
Who’s gonna install my drywall?
Who’s gonna mow my lawn and blow my leaves?
Who’s gonna cultivate my cannabis?
Who’s gonna traffic our heroin and fentanyl?
We need open borders and Mexican slaves now!
I am so sick and tired of all these FoxNews-watching republitard rednecks that have invaded are community with there large trucks and SUV’s that emmitt greenhouse gases like hydrogen that ruin the climate and the planet. As democrats we must stand together and deport these right wing morrons.
Hey Brett, are you really concerned about the environment? Perhaps you should read Dr. Paul Erlich’s (Stanford) research on overpopulation. No matter what else we do,overpopulation will ecologically doom the planet. Care do guess what group in Calif produces the most kids? The information is readily available from county health departments and it happens to be Hispanics.