ICE Activity Near Santa Barbara Campuses Stokes Community Fears

[Updated Fri., Oct. 3, 2025, 5:08 pm]

Reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity near Santa Barbara City College, UC Santa Barbara, and Franklin Elementary school on Thursday, October 2, raised the alarm among immigrant rights advocates who are concerned federal immigration operations are creeping closer to spaces that have traditionally been protected from ICE enforcement.

The 805 Immigration Coalition — which runs the 24/7 Rapid Response Hotline to monitor potential federal immigration enforcement on the Central Coast — reported several sightings of ICE vehicles early Thursday morning, including in the areas of Chino, Milpas, and Haley streets in Eastside Santa Barbara, with one sighting reported near Franklin Elementary School (though the school was closed for a holiday, and no students were on campus).

Rapid Response Hotline volunteers immediately follow up to verify reported incidents as they happen, sending legal observers to document any arrests and cross-reference the often-unmarked vehicles with a list of “known ICE vehicles” that have been confirmed to be used during previous operations, either for arrests or transporting individuals to ICE processing facilities in Santa Maria or Camarillo. These incidents are further corroborated by legal representatives who work directly with the families of individuals detained, arrested, or deported.

Just after 7 a.m. the same morning, Rapid Response Hotline legal observers were alerted to another incident near the Santa Barbara City College campus, in the adjacent residential neighborhood on Oceano Avenue. In this incident, 805 Immigrant Coalition confirmed at least four people were taken into custody by ICE officers in bulletproof vests and federal agents wearing navy blue “FBI” jackets. According to witnesses at the scene, the four people were taken away in unmarked vehicles after the federal agents smashed the driver’s side window of the detainees’ car.

After the early-morning incidents in Santa Barbara, 805 Immigrant Coalition dispatched multiple community response teams to patrol neighborhoods on the Eastside, Westside, and other areas of the city that have become hotspots for ICE activity in recent months. “Let’s protect each other and keep watch for our community,” the group wrote in a post on Instagram.

Another incident involving federal immigration enforcement — originally reported by UCSB’s student-run newspaper the Daily Nexus — occurred at a student dormitory on El Colegio Road around 10:30 that same morning. According to reports from firsthand witnesses, an individual who later identified himself as a federal immigration officer was able to gain access into the main lobby of the Santa Catalina Residence Hall (an area accessible only to residents with an electronic key), likely after a resident either entered or exited the front door.

The Daily Nexus spoke to a staff member who asked to remain anonymous, who reportedly said the officer — who was either with ICE or another federal agency — showed a front desk worker a file with the name of an individual whose address was listed at the student dorm. Santa Catalina Residence Hall staff could not confirm whether the individual in question currently lives in the building, and federal agencies could not confirm whether the officer had a warrant to enter the property.

Dormitory staff members and supervisors did not reveal any information about the individual, due to university policies which prevent the disclosure of any information about student residents without the student’s permission. After a few minutes, the federal agent reportedly left the dormitory without any further incident.

The Independent reached out to UCSB and the Department of Homeland Security for more information regarding the incident at the Santa Catalina Residence Hall. ICE did not respond to specific questions, and the agency does not comment publicly regarding day-to-day operations.

UCSB spokesperson Kiki Reyes addressed the incident in a statement sent to the Independent on Friday afternoon, in which she said the federal agent who entered the lobby of the student dormitory may not have been from ICE, but could have been from another agency inquiring about a student’s immigration status.

“The university is looking into a report concerning individuals identifying themselves as federal representatives who entered the lobby of one of our housing residences and asked to speak to an individual regarding an expired international student immigration status,” Reyes said. “By university policy, and in accordance with [The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act], the university did not disclose any information and the individuals were denied access to the residence hall. At this time, the campus does not believe that the individuals were agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

According to University of California’s informational page regarding immigration policies (updated July 28, 2025), UCSB does not technically have the authority to prevent federal immigration enforcement officers from coming on campus to enforce federal law, though staff and UCPD are not required to assist in any capacity.

The policy makes a distinction, however, between public areas of the campus — which are accessible to any member of the public, including ICE officers — and “private” areas, such as dormitories and buildings with monitored entryways restricted to those with key cards. Specifically, the policy states, ICE requires a judicial warrant (signed by a judge) to enter non-public areas like college dorm rooms. 

“UC employees are not required to affirmatively assist federal immigration authorities or grant permission to enter limited access space when officers do not have a judicial warrant to enter,” the policy states. “If an immigration officer seeks your consent to enter limited access space or requests information or documents from you about another individual, take steps to ensure that you have authority to provide the requested access, information or documents. Ask the officer for their documentation of their name, identification number, agency affiliation, and business card; ask for a copy of any warrant they may have.”

Since January, there have been more than 600 immigration-related arrests on the Central Coast, with more than 100 confirmed arrests in Santa Barbara County (though these arrests, recorded by 805 Immigrant Coalition, represent a low estimate, counting only those reported through the Rapid Response Hotline). The vast majority of ICE-related activity has occurred in neighborhoods with high concentrations of working-class Latino families, such as Santa Barbara’s Eastside and Westside and Old Town Goleta. While reports of ICE activity near school campuses has raised the level of fear among immigrant advocates and community watchdogs, there have been no confirmed instances of ICE entering a school property in Santa Barbara County this year.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include comments from a UCSB representative, and to reflect the fact that Franklin Elementary School was not in session on October 2, when ICE was spotted in the neighborhood near the school. A Santa Barbara Unified School District spokesperson confirmed no students were on campus due to a board scheduled holiday.