SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—What started out as a press conference turned into a rally as hundreds of high school students from Santa Barbara, Dos Pueblos, and San Marcos marched toward the courthouse Friday. They held signs with slogans like “no human is illegal” and “abolish ice”. They are speaking out in the wake of killings and unrest in Minnesota, and incidents here at home. “How am I supposed to go on knowing that my mom is in these camps day and night without proper food, water?” asked one student. “I’ve seen the effects that some of the recent ICE raids have had on my students and their families. They're upset. They don't want to come to school when they're in school,” said teacher Andrea Fuentes. Just this week, an ICE agent pepper sprayed a woman on the Eastside of Santa Barbara. Back in July the Glasshouse Farms raid in Carpinteria shook up the community. “Four months later, they returned with military style operations to Santa Maria. And then, between December 27th and December 30th, over 150 community members were taken between the County of Santa Barbara and County of San Luis Obispo,” said 805 Undocufund Executive Director Primitiva Hernandez.
Hernandez held back tears during her speech. “History is watching this moment. Our children will ask where we stood,” Hernandez said. Local leaders including Councilwoman Wendy Santamaria and Gloria Soto took to the podium emphasizing the power of solidarity. “The first way that we defeat this wave of fascism is by doing it together. There is more of us than them. And let's act like it,” said Santa Barbara City Councilwoman Wendy Santamaria. “There’s more that we have to do to try to make sure that our community members feel safe,” said Santa Barbara City Councilman Oscar Gutierrez. “We need Congress to act, to defund and dismantle an agency that has operated without adequate accountability, and that has inflicted harm on so many,” said Santa Maria City Council Member Gloria Soto.
“We are demanding an end to local law enforcement cooperation and resource sharing,” said one speaker. Local leaders are also calling on Congress to use federal budget negotiations to implement ICE policy changes. Senate Democrats have reached a deal to temporarily fund Homeland Security for two more weeks. The hope is that Congress will negotiate significant reforms, including the use of body cameras, removal of masks, and an end to roving patrols.
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