Immigrants have no problem in Santa Barbara or any other place in America. Illegal aliens have a major problem, they are law breakers and the Trump Administration is going to enforce our immigration laws. This article is another example of how the media tries to confuse the public of the plight of immigrants with the law breaking of illegal aliens.
“After breaking the door down, agents forced the brother, a U.S. citizen, onto the floor at gunpoint and placed him in handcuffs. The mother, grandmother, and children were told to sit on the floor, while agents yelled about “questioning their authority” and took the other son — who is undocumented and recently released from probation for an unknown violation — into custody and escorted him out of the apartment.
Only at that point, according to family members, did the agents return to the apartment and provide the signed warrant for the arrest of the undocumented son who was in the house. They removed the handcuffs from his brother, the U.S. citizen, and left without revealing any other information.
The FBI had a warrant for a criminal illegal alien. Yes, the family was frightened—but they had to know that by protecting a criminal illegal alien this would happen. This would not have happened if the family was not protecting the criminal illegal alien. Should the FBI not arrest a criminal, because they are hiding behind the skirts of legal people? If so, no criminal would be arrested.
The New Reality for Santa Barbara’s Immigrant Community
While Immigration Enforcement Has Slowed Down, Fear and Confusion Continue to Spread
By Ryan P. Cruz, Santa Barbara Independent, 2/24/25 https://www.independent.com/2025/02/24/the-new-reality-for-santa-barbaras-immigrant-community/
At 7:02 a.m. on what was an otherwise quiet Sunday morning on Santa Barbara’s Westside, one family was shocked awake by armed agents banging on their apartment door. Video from a neighbor’s doorbell camera shows several agents, wearing “FBI” bulletproof vests, walk through the hallway outside the apartment; one agent can be seen covering the camera with a piece of paper.
Inside the apartment, a mother, her two sons, their grandmother, and children huddled in fear. One of the sons, who is a U.S. citizen, attempted to speak to the agents through the door, asking to see a warrant signed by a judge. According to Jennifer Sanchez, a community advocate with La Casa de la Raza who is working with the family, the agents “went silent” before finally announcing themselves as FBI and ramming the door down.
In the audio from the neighbor’s doorbell camera, agents can be heard yelling: “Come to the door! FBI!”
After breaking the door down, agents forced the brother, a U.S. citizen, onto the floor at gunpoint and placed him in handcuffs. The mother, grandmother, and children were told to sit on the floor, while agents yelled about “questioning their authority” and took the other son — who is undocumented and recently released from probation for an unknown violation — into custody and escorted him out of the apartment.
Only at that point, according to family members, did the agents return to the apartment and provide the signed warrant for the arrest of the undocumented son who was in the house. They removed the handcuffs from his brother, the U.S. citizen, and left without revealing any other information.
La Casa de la Raza reported the February 23 incident in its weekly newsletter, and Sanchez said the organization is working closely with the family to provide legal support and help fundraise to repair the damage to the family’s door.
Sanchez said the family is “frightened and scared” following the incident, and that many others in Santa Barbara’s Latino community are feeling the same fear and confusion about their rights. “We are doing our best to help with immigration resources and supplies along with mental health support for our community,” she said.
La Casa de la Raza and other nonprofit organizations such as 805 UndocuFund have been keeping tabs on reports of immigration enforcement and arrests, both through weekly newsletters and the 24/7 Rapid Response Hotline, which has been staffed by volunteers who field thousands of calls and messages to verify reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity and dispel false rumors or misinformation.
Immigration advocates say that, while reports of ICE sightings have slowed down in February, arrests continue to be reported each week. These organizations estimate anywhere from eight to 15 verified immigration-related arrests per week in Santa Barbara County, though official numbers from the federal government have been harder to come by.
The regional FBI field office did not immediately respond to questions about the February 23 arrest in Santa Barbara, and inquiries regarding the number of ICE arrests in specific cities on the Central Coast were met with a generic email response from ICE spokesperson Richard Beam: “Due to our operational tempo and the increased interest in our agency, we are not able to research and respond to rumors or specifics of routine daily operations.”
Meanwhile, the Rapid Response Hotline continues to provide help on the ground. According to one report from 805 UndocuFund, the hotline assisted a man who was stopped by ICE agents on Nopal Street in Santa Barbara. The man was able to get in contact with a volunteer, who told him to lock his door and not answer any questions without a signed warrant. The officers wearing ICE badges eventually left the scene.
Primitiva Hernandez, 805 UndocuFund executive director, said the organization was also able to clear up rumors of immigration enforcement at a downtown restaurant, where employees were concerned when agents from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) were on scene for a routine investigation.
Hernandez said that Senator Monique Limón’s office was quick in helping clear up the confusion about the ABC visit, though that report was just one of several recent rumors that was widely shared on social media. These included false reports of ICE activity in conjunction with a larger operation in Los Angeles, which Hernandez said was not confirmed by local officials.
“It’s vital to rely on verified information and avoid spreading misinformation that fuels unnecessary fear,” Hernandez said. “Please continue using the 805 Immigrant Rapid Response Hotline to report concerns and verify facts.”
There will be several community meetings this week to provide information and resources about immigration, including an event with the Ambassador of the Mexican Consulate at La Casa de la Raza at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, February 26, and a forum on “Protecting Our Immigrant Community,” hosted by the League of Women Voters at the Santa Barbara Public Library’s Faulkner Gallery at noon on Thursday, February 27.
