ICE Officer Pepper-Sprays Community Observers in Eastside Santa Barbara

ICE officers pushed and pepper-sprayed multiple Santa Barbara residents during a reported immigration enforcement operation in the Eastside neighborhood of Santa Barbara on Wednesday morning. The chaotic scene was captured on video, which shows the masked agent, wearing a vest marked “Police,” spraying a woman who had showed up to document the activity in her neighborhood.

According to volunteer observers with the 805 Rapid Response Network, ICE vehicles were first reported in the neighborhood shortly after 6:30 a.m. on Hutash Street. By 7 a.m. the vehicles were spotted again near the area of Salinas and Carpinteria streets, and within 15 minutes, a crowd of community members and neighbors began to grow, and Santa Barbara Police officers were dispatched to the scene.

Witnesses at the scene reported the ICE officers jumping out of vehicles and chasing a man in a high-visibility yellow sweatshirt. The man was able to escape arrest, but the ICE officers remained in the area.

Ana Garcia, a community volunteer with SBResiste, was among the first to document the scene. She said that as the crowd grew, community members were standing on both sides of the street, taking videos and asking the ICE officers to identify themselves and remove their masks.

In videos from the incident, just prior to SBPD’s arrival at the scene, several cars can be seen in the street, and the crowd can be heard yelling at the ICE officers. In one video a woman who had come out of her nearby home can be seen speaking face-to-face with a masked ICE officer, with her phone recording the interaction.  

The officer can be seen holding a large black spray can up to her face, then grabbing her arm and pushing her to the side. After a few seconds, the officer points the can and sprays it directly in her face. The ICE officer then can be heard yelling to the crowd: “Take her!”

[Click to enlarge videos]

SBPD issued a press release Wednesday morning, saying officers were dispatched to a “large fight” around 7:15 a.m. According to the statement, officers arrived to find a large crowd and ICE at the location. “The Santa Barbara Police Department had no prior knowledge that the ICE agents would be at that location or anywhere in the City of Santa Barbara today,” the statement read.

Field Operations Sergeant Bryan Kerr said that officers learned about the alleged pushing and pepper-spraying incidents after the officers’ arrival. “Officers attempted to de-escalate the situation and the ICE agents left the scene,” Kerr said.

SBPD took statements from witnesses at the scene, provided traffic support, and arranged medical assistance for the individual who had been exposed to pepper spray. No arrests were made by SBPD. One person was reportedly detained by ICE, though it is not believed to be connected to the incident on Salinas Street.

According to firsthand accounts from witnesses at the scene, the woman who was pepper-sprayed was immediately cared for by fellow community members. These community members escorted the woman to her house, where they said they were the first to call for an ambulance. They stayed with the woman to ensure she was safe.

“They are the people that cared for her and called for the ambulance,” Garcia told the Independent shortly after the incident.

When ICE left the area, their presence in the surrounding neighborhood caused another wave of panic. Parents dropping off students at the nearby Adelante Charter School were alarmed to hear ICE vehicles were spotted, and warnings spread on social media telling at-risk residents to avoid the Eastside.

Garcia said the scene was the most chaotic incident of ICE activity since she began volunteering as a legal observer with SBResiste in 2025. She said she was especially disappointed to see the lack of support from local law enforcement, who she said appeared to be prioritizing the safety of the ICE officers over Santa Barbara residents.

Garcia said the impact of ICE presence was especially traumatic this week, following the recent fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Both were U.S. citizens and community observers like Garcia, and both were killed at the hands of immigration enforcement. 

She said the violence in Minnesota and the recent actions in Santa Barbara have made her more passionate about protecting her neighbors from immigration enforcement.

“I’ve been very clear about my understanding of the risk, and I would be willing to die for this,” she said. “These are Nazis in our communities, and if we don’t want to see any of our community defenders harmed, we have to show up for our neighbors.”