[Updated: Fri., Aug. 1, 2025, 3:20pm]
Twenty-nine elected representatives — from Salud Carbajal in Congress to Peter Wright of the Santa Ynez College board — issued an open letter on July 25 to Sheriff Bill Brown asking that he use his bully-pulpit as president of Major County Sheriffs of America, a national organization, “to call for the de-escalation of our immigrant communities.”
“As elected leaders in our community, we are horrified by the violent and militarized mass deportation campaign that is unfolding,” the letter stated. “Every day, we hear from our constituents who are fearful and anxious about the heavy-handed immigration enforcement operations taking place.”
The signatories also included State Senator Monique Limón, State Assemblymember Gregg Hart, County Supervisors Laura Capps and Roy Lee, and Santa Barbara Councilmembers Oscar Gutierrez, Kristen Sneddon, and Wendy Santamaria, among several others.
The letter continued, “We call on you to do everything within your power as the leader of this national law enforcement advocacy organization to publicly stand up against the Administration’s dangerous immigration enforcement campaign that is putting your constituents in harm’s way. As our elected sheriff, we are counting on you to be a voice for our shared constituents as you advocate for change in Washington, D.C., and we expect nothing less.”
Sheriff Brown said he would not be replying to the letter.
Two weeks ago, the Board of Supervisors was addressing the heavy show of force ICE had displayed when serving search warrants on the Glass House cannabis greenhouse in Carpinteria and Camarillo. At that time, Sheriff Brown told the supervisors that the Major Sheriffs of America was a diverse political body that reflected all sides of the political spectrum when it came to Donald Trump and his policy of mass deportations. Brown took pains to stay above the immediate fray, blaming the current escalation on Congress’s long-term failure to enact meaningful immigration reform and to enforce the border enforcement. Both parties, he said, have exploited the issue for their own political purposes, and the solution, he said, would not be that hard.
In tone and content, Brown differed dramatically from District Attorney John Savrnoch, who during that same meeting spoke movingly about how his own family’s multi-generational immigrant story is the same as those of Mexican immigrants of today. Savrnoch urged people to protest for their country but equally strongly called on them to protest peacefully and not block law enforcement officers from doing their duty. Brown spoke right after Savrnoch, announcing he would be more “circumspect.” He urged people within earshot not to engage in black-and-white thinking.
Sparking the letter-to-Brown effort were comments made during last week’s Goleta City Council meeting by Goleta school board member Ethan Bertrand, who was the first elected official to call on Brown to call for “de-escalation” as the Major Sheriffs of America’s president.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to note that Sheriff Bill Brown stated he will not be replying to the letter.
