SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Congressman Salud Carbajal is calling for greater transparency and accountability from federal immigration authorities as concerns grow over ICE enforcement operations across California. His Republican challenger, Bob Smith, also supports greater transparency but disagrees with Carbajal's claim that the operations are intended to intimidate communities and suppress voter participation.
Carbajal joined Congressman Jim Costa and other leaders in a virtual press conference Monday afternoon, calling on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide more information about enforcement operations.
“When we get specific cases of people who feel their rights were violated, we ask about those specific cases and there should be some transparency, but rarely do we get any information from them whatsoever,” Carbajal said.
Smith, who is running against Carbajal for California's 24th Congressional District seat, said he wants more information about who is being targeted and why.
“I want to know who's being targeted, why they're being targeted, who was picked up, who were their family members,” Smith said. “I would want a complete transparency on everything that's going on on this, so that we don't have the rhetoric on either side.”
Candidates disagree over voter intimidation claims
Carbajal said he believes the administration's immigration enforcement approach is intended to intimidate communities and suppress voter participation. He also raised concerns about U.S. citizens being apprehended during enforcement operations and potential civil rights violations.
“I think it's a full press by this administration to suppress the vote, to create intimidation,” Carbajal said. He added that he believes the apprehension of U.S. citizens sends a message that their rights could be violated.
Smith disputed Carbajal's interpretation, describing the allegation as political rhetoric.
“I don't think that that's an issue at all. I mean, if you are an undocumented person here, you can't vote anyway,” Smith said.
Local advocates report increased enforcement activity
Meanwhile, local immigrant-rights advocates say the impact of federal immigration enforcement is being felt across the Central Coast.
Michelle Ambriz, a policy advocate with CAUSE, said enforcement activity in Santa Maria appears to have increased and become more visible.
“It is definitely a big increase. And it seems to be a lot more in our faces,” Ambriz said.
She said immigration enforcement in the area had previously often involved people being picked up after leaving jail.
According to local immigrant-rights organization 805 UndocuFund, about 150 people have been detained by federal immigration authorities across the Central Coast since Oct. 5. The organization also reports more than 1,300 immigration-related arrests in Santa Barbara County alone since January of last year.
The figures are reported by the organization and have not been independently verified for this report.
Advocates urge community members to document incidents
Ambriz said documenting enforcement activity can help advocates address potential civil rights violations.
“In the event that there is a kidnapping or an arrest or a raid, making sure folks are taking videos so that if their rights have been violated, it is recorded, and we can send that to our attorney general,” Ambriz said.
The calls for transparency come amid ongoing debate over how federal immigration laws are enforced and how authorities can protect civil rights while carrying out enforcement operations.
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