The Isla Vista Community Services District passed a resolution that expresses its support for immigrant communities and takes various actions on issues relating to the activities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at its Aug. 12 meeting.
The board allocated $10,000 as a one-time contribution to be divided evenly between 805 Undocufund and the Immigrant Legal Defense Center. Nexus file photo
The resolution adopts a policy requiring a judicial warrant for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) in order to gain access and entry to Isla Vista district facilities.
According to Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) board president Spencer Brandt, this is a clarification of federal policies that require a judicial warrant for an I.C.E. agent to enter non-public areas of district buildings. Additionally, it supports the California Values Act, which prohibits local law enforcement from collaborating with federal immigration enforcement officials.
“This is just to help establish clear procedures for our staff for what to do and what would happen if I.C.E. were to come to the community center, community room, district offices and district facilities,” Brandt said.
The resolution also allocates a sum of $10,000 as a one-time contribution to be divided evenly between 805 Undocufund, which offers financial assistance to undocumented and mixed-status families, as well as the Immigrant Legal Defense Center, which provides pro bono legal assistance in the Central Coast to immigrants facing deportation.
In addition, the resolution expresses that the IVCSD Board of Directors takes a position of support on four pieces of California state legislation: Senate Bill 98, Senate Bill 627, Senate Bill 580 and Senate Bill 805.
Senate Bill 98 mandates that educational institutions notify community members when immigration enforcement is confirmed on campus. Senate Bill 627 prohibits law enforcement officers and federal agents from donning face masks while interacting with the public, with the exception of health and safety situations. Senate Bill 580 facilitates the development of policies for local and state agencies, limiting their assistance for federal immigration enforcement. Senate Bill 805 enforces policies against law enforcement and immigration officer impersonation.
According to IVCSD board member Katherine Carmichael, the Senate has passed all four pieces of legislation and is waiting on the Assembly Appropriations Committee for review and approval, followed by the state governor’s signature.
“We were especially excited to support [Senate Bill 98] just because obviously we have [UC Santa Barbara] right here and so many of our residents are UCSB students or in staff [and] interact with UCSB in some way,” Carmichael said.
Lastly, the resolution condemns I.C.E. raids on the Central Coast and requests that law enforcement leaders with varying degrees of jurisdiction de-escalate immigration enforcement activities. According to the resolution, there have been at least 111 arrests made in Santa Barbara County (SBC), contributing to a “climate of fear.”
“These actions are in direct opposition to the constitutional oath that law enforcement has sworn to uphold as they protect and serve,” Brandt said. “I think it’s really important that we ask our law enforcement leaders to use their moral authority to push back, and that really starts with our elected sheriff in Santa Barbara County.”
When the board took community comment, they received testimony from Anastasia, a representative from the Planned Parenthood Central Coast Action Fund (PPCCAF) who only shared their first name. They shared that recent I.C.E. raids have impacted the PPCCAF’s ability to serve patients and encouraged the board to act to protect the community from disruptive federal overreach.
“With masked figures and unmarked vehicles and I.C.E. agents patrolling the streets and in the community, our neighbors are fearful to leave their homes, let alone go out and seek the health care that they deserve and need,” they said. “This growing fear is building barriers of distrust and it’s halting people’s lives and halting their ability to seek health care.”
Additionally, second-year political science major and External Vice President for Local Affairs (EVPLA) EJ Raad shared with the board actions that Associated Students aims to take. Raad referenced creating “physical signs and postage” which would be posted around I.V. and campus in order to raise awareness on where I.C.E. agents may enter.
“I think raising awareness physically is going to help a lot with people knowing where they can be, hopefully, safe from these sorts of things,” Raad said.
Board members passed the resolution with a majority of the quorum voting in favor and one member, governmental relations director Kirsten Deshler, abstaining as a result of having to represent the university’s views as opposed to her personal views on the resolution.
According to Deshler, campuses of the University of California system are prohibited by UC Regent policy from taking positions on state legislations unless the policy has been approved by the Regents. Deshler explained that there are few bills that the UC takes positions of support on, and typically does not take any position.
“I think the only piece of feedback that I would give to the university as a whole is that I think that there is an opportunity to create greater bonds of trust with undocumented students by embracing in concept initiatives like what is envisioned in Senate Bill 98, a signal that the university will not be complicit in what we are seeing across the nation and indeed here in Santa Barbara County,” Brandt said.
