Santa Barbara County Declares Support for Laws on ICE Masks, Identification

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors declared its official support of two state bills calling for more transparency and accountability in federal immigration enforcement operations. The two pieces of legislation — the “No Secret Police Act” (SB 627) and the “No Vigilantes Act” (SB 805) — would ban federal agents from wearing masks on duty and require all federal, state, and local law enforcement officers to display identifying information at all times.

Federal immigration operations have been hitting California communities for the past several months, with the largest single-day operation coming on July 10, when several federal agencies arrived together in a joint raid of two Central Coast cannabis facilities in Camarillo and Carpinteria. In Carpinteria, a normally quiet beach town, chaos erupted after 10 workers were detained and hundreds of community members showed up in protest, eventually leading to armed federal agents deploying smoke grenades and rubber pellets on the crowd.

Community members packed the County Administration Building on July 15, voicing concerns about “indiscriminate” immigration arrests in Santa Barbara County neighborhoods and the highly militarized raids in Carpinteria. Supervisor Laura Capps said one of the loudest messages that came from that meeting was the “terror felt from so many people” due to the fact that ICE officers were often masked and refused to identify themselves to the public.

“We have literally people that are ICE agents without identification, wearing masks, striking fear, and pulling people off the streets,” Capps said during this Tuesday’s meeting. “So, these two pieces of legislation are California’s attempt to rein that in.”

The two state bills are currently working their way through the state legislative process, and last week were passed through Assembly Appropriations before heading to a vote on the Assembly floor next week. Approval would require a two-thirds vote from each chamber, and would take effect immediately upon the signature of Governor Gavin Newsom.

Supervisor Steve Lavagnino pointed out that, due to the complications regarding jurisdiction, it would be difficult for any local or state agency to enforce either of the two laws. Still, he said he would vote in support of the bills because he said he felt that it was “sending a message” that needed to be heard.

Santa Barbara County Undersheriff Craig Bonner spoke from a local law enforcement perspective, explaining that Sheriff’s Office policy required that all officers be easily identifiable to the public, except in specific circumstances such as SWAT team operations or active undercover work.

“We wear recognizable uniforms with badges, with our nameplates, [Velcro] name tapes, and our patches on our shoulders to identify who we are, not only as an organization, but as individual deputies and police officers,” Bonner said.

Bonner said he had spoken with representatives from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, who offered a different explanation behind concealing agents’ identities.

“The reason they are wearing those masks — the reason why they are reticent to allow themselves to be identified — is because they are being followed, and they are concerned for their safety and the safety of their families,” Undersheriff Bonner said.

Julissa Peña, executive director of the Immigrant Legal Defense Center, had a different point of view from working with families and individuals facing deportation proceedings every day.

“These tactics instill fear, create confusion, and undermine accountability,” Peña said. “Families are left terrified, unable to even identify who is taking their loved ones away. The fact that federal immigration officers have been permitted to mask themselves and hide their identities has not been for their protection, but rather to facilitate due-process violations while evading accountability for unlawful actions.”

Supervisor Joan Hartmann said that, in her view, “No name, no badge, no agency means there’s no way to hold someone accountable. That just opens up the door to potential abuse, and it creates a culture of impunity.”

Supervisor Bob Nelson was the only member of the board to vote in opposition to the county’s support of the two bills. He said he felt that the State of California had to accept “some responsibility for the level of chaos in the community,” and that he would prefer to work with the federal government and Trump administration toward solving some of the local problems.

The county’s declaration of support is just its latest action in response to the community’s immigration concerns. Following the July 15 meeting, the board approved $345,000 in funding for the Immigrant Legal Defense Center. On July 18, the county sent a Freedom of Information Act Request asking the federal government to provide a timeline and locations of ICE activity in Santa Barbara County, names of those detained and reason for apprehension, and documentation of guidelines being followed by immigration officers.

The county also sent a request to ICE’s acting Director Todd Lyons asking that an ICE official appear in-person for a public hearing. The county has not received a substantive response to either request, though government officials told county staff that ICE is “searching for records.”