Carpinteria Community Packs City Hall in Response to Immigration Raids

Carpinteria is known as home to the “World’s Safest Beach,” but on Thursday the quiet beach town erupted into chaos as military convoys of ICE and U.S. Homeland Security agents stormed the Glass House Farms facility on Casitas Pass Road, reportedly arresting at least 10 farmworkers and drawing out hundreds in a protest where enlisted servicemen used flash-bangs and rubber pellet grenades on unarmed civilians and elected officials in the crowd.

Before Thursday’s immigration raid in Carpinteria — which happened at the same time as another federal operation at the Glass House Farms facility in Camarillo  — the community had already been faced with an increase in immigration enforcement, with a crew of ICE agents making at least three arrests in two separate incidents on July 7 and July 8. The city had scrambled to schedule a special meeting to address the increased ICE presence, though the large-scale raids just hours before the meeting gave the night a whole new level of urgency.

“Frankly, it could not be more timely,” Carpinteria Mayor Natalia Alarcon said as the meeting opened. The main floor was packed, with crowds lined down the hall and out into an overfill tent outside, where even more people watched and waited for their turn to speak.

The long public comment session was emotional, as residents and neighbors recounted the harrowing details from earlier in the day. Government representatives shared statements of solidarity, nonprofit volunteers and organizers asked for more support for immigrant families, and traumatized residents asked for protection for the city’s hardworking immigrant population.

Community members thanked elected officials who had stood alongside their constituents on the front lines, such as Congressmember Salud Carbajal, who earlier that day was denied entry at the barricades; and Carpinteria Vice Mayor Mónica Solórzano, who was pushed to the ground when Homeland Security dropped flash-bangs in the middle of a crowd.

David Russo was driving down Rincon Road delivering groceries with the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County Thursday afternoon when he came across an “armored military convoy” blocking the road, blaring its bullhorn to demand Russo get out of the way.

“Up until today, I only saw these things on the news,” Russo said. 

In an incident captured on video, Russo can be seen outside his car arguing with two Homeland Security officers in full military gear. One of the men reaches into Russo’s car, grabs the keys out of the ignition, and throws them into the woods on the side of the road. Russo said he was able to identify the officer and plans to file a complaint with the Homeland Security Office of Professional Standards. “This is something that will live in my mind forever,” he said.

Teresa Alvarez, executive director of the Carpinteria Children’s Project, said that it was heartwarming to see so many people in the community show up to protect their neighbors, but equally “saddening” and “traumatic” to witness the violence used against civilians. “I can’t believe this is the America we live in,” she said.

Carpinteria resident Andy Patrick said he was “sick” of seeing hardworking immigrants be labeled as hardened criminals, rapists, or murderers. ”These are our neighbors,” he said. “These are beautiful people.”

Others vented their frustration. Jesus Cardona, who said he was a “proud son of immigrants,” pointed out the hypocrisy of ICE and Homeland Security agents wearing masks, caps, and sunglasses to cover themselves. “What kind of law enforcement marches in and is so cowardly that they need to cover their faces?” Cardona asked. “For their safety? I don’t believe it. We have sheriff’s [deputies] in this room today, and not a single face covered.”

Santa Barbara County Supervisor and former Carpinteria councilmember Roy Lee, who immigrated from Taiwan when he was only 6 years old, offered the full support from the county. “I am proud of all the people that showed up here today,” Lee said. “Thank you for being here, and I stand with you.”

Community members shared about the heightened state of anxiety in Carpinteria, where legal citizens have begun to carry around their passports and Social Security cards out of fear of being racially profiled and mistaken for an undocumented immigrant. “ICE is not asking questions,” said Ivan Vega of Future Leaders of America. “They are just taking people if they don’t meet that stereotypical image.”

Immigrant Legal Defense Center Executive Director Julissa Peña, who works directly with individuals facing deportation, said that the “community is under attack” with the recent escalation in enforcement tactics.

“We’re seeing coordinated ICE enforcement, raids and National Guard deployments targeting immigrants across California, and a growing network of detention facilities that warehouse immigrants — many of them longstanding members of this very same community,” Peña said. “This expansion of detention is not only tearing families apart; it is actively limiting people’s access to legal representation. As more individuals are funneled into remote or out-of-state detention centers, they lose their ability to secure adequate legal counsel. This is deliberate — by denying immigrants due process and restricting their right to fair hearings, the system stacks the deck in favor of mass deportations.”

Councilmembers were united in their support for Carpinteria’s Latino community, a group that makes up half of the city’s population. In a unanimous decision, the council passed a proclamation promising to support the city’s immigrants and commit to the California Values Act, which prohibits local resources from being used for federal immigration. 

The council also looked into additional responses to the immigration, and voted to appropriate $5,000 from the city’s general fund to support immigrant support services, to be distributed in September.