ICE Arrests Continue in Santa Barbara and Carpinteria

[Update: Tue., July 8, 2025, 11:45am] Unmarked ICE vehicles were spotted in Santa Barbara County between 6 and 8 a.m. Tuesday, according to community alerts issued by the 805 Immigrant Coalition and 805 UndocuFund. Advocates said that Santa Barbara County was a point of target on Tuesday, with videos showing the same vehicles spotted making arrests the previous days patrolling both the Eastside and Westside neighborhoods of Santa Barbara and Carpinteria.

One video taken from a residence on Rancheria Street in Santa Barbara shows what appears to be a squad of “ERO” (ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations) agents entering private property. Another video taken in Carpinteria shows agents in unmarked vehicles breaking the window of a man’s work truck near Eucalyptus Street.

[Original Story] As the federal government moves forward with the largest single investment in immigration enforcement in U.S. history — a whopping $170 billion in total, and about $30 billion specifically for U.S. Customs and Enforcement (ICE) removal operations — people on the Central Coast continue to be detained on a weekly basis.

ICE agents were seen on video making at least two arrests in Santa Barbara and Carpinteria over the weekend, shortly before noon on Sunday, July 6, in Eastside Santa Barbara, and early in the morning on Monday, July 7, in the parking lot of Smart & Final in downtown Carpinteria.

Video posted to social media shows two unmarked vehicles — a silver Hyundai Elantra and white Chevy Tahoe — stopping one individual on Cacique Street near Salinas Street on Santa Barbara’s Eastside at around 11:30 a.m. on July 6. Two masked agents, one wearing a navy-blue short-sleeve polo, and the other in an olive-green vest with a black long-sleeve undershirt, can be seen handcuffing a young male who appears to be in his late teens.

The woman recording the video can be heard telling the young man in handcuffs that he has the right to ask for a lawyer. “You’re entitled to due process,” she says, while the young man is placed in the backseat of the silver sedan.

“Back up, ma’am. You’re getting too close,” says the agent, whose vest is simply labeled “Police.” When he turns toward the camera, a golden shield-shaped ICE badge can be seen on his belt buckle.

The woman then asks the agent to identify himself with his name and badge number. He turns away; responds, “I don’t have to provide those”; and within seconds, the two masked agents climb into the unmarked sedan and drive away while the white Tahoe follows slowly behind.

Early Monday, at about 7 a.m., another incident involving an ICE arrest was recorded on video in the parking lot of Smart & Final on Linden Avenue in downtown Carpinteria. At least two videos of the incident were posted to social media, showing multiple unmarked vehicles detaining at least one man who appears to be parked in a truck outside the store.

Two masked agents wearing green “ERO” vests (Enforcement and Removal Operations is a division within ICE) can be seen outside the man’s truck, while a third agent — wearing sunglasses, a red T-shirt, and a black vest labeled “Police” — keeps watch from a distance. His vest has no insignia other than a “blue lives matter” flag across the chest, but the familiar golden ICE badge can be seen hanging from his waist.

A man and woman can be heard on the video approaching the agent and asking him to identify himself as a federal employee. “You think I’m a bounty hunter?” the agent responds.

“Do you have an ID? Can I see your ID?” the person recording asks the agent. 

“Why? You’re not under arrest,” he says to the bystanders.

“I’m a public citizen,” the person recording says. “You’re engaging with me, and I have the right to ask for your ID.”

“And I have the right to say no,” the agent says. He can be seen laughing and shaking his head dismissively throughout the recorded interaction.

The videos were reposted by the 805 Immigrant Coalition, which, along with 805UndocuFund, has been keeping track of immigration enforcement across the Central Coast. The unmarked vehicles used by ICE agents in Santa Barbara and Carpinteria match the same vehicle descriptions as those used in similar operations in Simi Valley, Camarillo, and Oxnard over the weekend.

In a community alert, 805UndocuFund and the 805 Immigrant Coalition urged undocumented residents of the Central Coast to be cautious of continued immigration enforcement through at least July 16. The fear over increased immigration enforcement force had a chilling effect on Fourth of July festivities, with reports of lower attendance numbers among the Latino and undocumented communities in the region.

“Be attentive, cities in Santa Barbara county and Ventura county were targeted this morning,” said the community alert issued on Monday morning. “Verified ICE vehicles were seen driving around Simi Valley and Santa Paula today, harassing and taunting residents who were speaking up for their community.”

The coalition has been in touch with the families of the men detained in Oxnard and Carpinteria, but advocates are still looking for information about other detainees that have not been identified at this point. ICE does not release details on arrests or current operations on the Central Coast.

The 805UndocuFund’s Emergency Assistance Fund has already raised more than $28,000 to support families impacted by immigration enforcement, with money going toward legal support, housing, transportation, and helping families stay together through deportation proceedings. Visit the website to learn more or donate.