ICE Out of 805! Press Conference

ICE Out of 805! The FUND for Santa Barbara and Partners Respond to Immigration Raids and Threats to Community Safety

Press Conference: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 12pm Santa Barbara Courthouse, Anacapa Street Side (Facing the Public Library)

 In response to escalating federal immigration raids, the deployment of National Guard troops at peaceful protests in Los Angeles, and confirmed ICE activity across Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties, The FUND for Santa Barbara, the 805 Immigrant Coalition, and community partners will host a press conference on Tuesday, June 10, at noon in front of the Santa Barbara Courthouse (Anacapa Street side). “ICE Out of 805” is a call to action against the ongoing criminalization and militarization targeting our immigrant neighbors.

“Family separation is no longer something we can think of as happening only at the border,” said Eder Gaona-Macedo, Executive Director of The FUND for Santa Barbara. “It is happening right here in our neighborhoods, in the 805. Our immigrant community is living in fear—parents afraid to drop their children off at school, workers afraid to get to their jobs, and whole communities silenced through fear and surveillance.”

As of June, 805 UndocuFund has reported 81 individuals still in custody or already deported across four confirmed targeted ICE operations. “Immigrant-serving organizations and attorneys are at full capacity, providing services to families navigating detention, deportation, and separation,” said Primitiva Hernandez, Executive Director of 805UndocuFund. “This is a dire and escalating crisis in our region and our communities cannot face it alone.”

The FUND will be joined Tuesday by its community partners: 805 UndocuFund, Indivisible Santa Barbara, the League of Women Voters, the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara, Future Leaders of America, MICOP, the California Immigrant Policy Center, Voces Sin Fronteras, and the Immigrant Legal Defense Center (ILDC).

This moment is part of a long and ongoing history of state-sanctioned violence that targets Brown, Black, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities alike. Our struggles are interconnected, as is our power. We call on all communities to stand in solidarity in defense of our dignity, safety, and rights. We urge nonprofits, student groups, labor unions, faith communities, and all justice-minded individuals and organizations to get plugged in and show up for our collective liberation. To coordinate efforts or join local response networks, contact executivedirector@805undocufund.org.