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Donald Trump ran on immigration. During his campaign, he repeatedly promised to carry out the “largest domestic deportation operation in American History.” And clearly, he won. Now in office, his administration is executing his agenda. Immigration and Homeland Security received a 60 billion dollar budget increase, and the Department of Homeland Security recently announced they had deported over two million individuals since Trump has been in office.
As of Sept. 8, the Supreme Court granted the Trump Administration’s emergency request to remove a temporary restraining order blocking federal immigration officials (and ICE) from conducting “roving patrols,” or proactively profiling individuals. The Supreme Court, by a six-three majority, supported the Trump Administration’s claim that federal immigration officers can detain and integrate individuals regarding their immigration status based on their appearance and location.
On Sept. 17, local US House of Representatives Congressman Salud Carbajal said in a Facebook post “From deporting people without due process to openly talking about running for an un-Constitutional third term, Donald Trump is attacking our Constitution on an unprecedented scale… I continue to call on the Supreme Court and Congressional Republicans to do their jobs and hold the President accountable for his extreme overreach.” Critics are calling this ruling unconstitutional, leaning on the Fourth Amendment, which requires probable cause to detain or arrest someone. This ruling overturns lower court rulings, reversing the position that immigration officers were violating the Fourth Amendment by stopping and questioning people without reasonable suspicion. In July, Federal District Court Judge Maame Frimpong barred the federal government from stopping and detaining people based solely on one or a combination of these reasons: ethnicity, language, location, or type of work. Now, with the Supreme Court ruling, ethnicity, language, location, and type of work effectively function as grounds for federal immigration officers to question people.
Meanwhile, California is trying to take action to protect its constituents. Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Sept. 20, preventing federal immigration agents from wearing masks in the state. This will likely go into effect in January, and this also applies to local law enforcement. When asked for a quote, City Councilmember Oscar Gutierrez said, “Making sure law enforcement is properly identified is key for making sure we are being transparent and keeping everyone safe.” In a signing event in Los Angeles, Newsom said on Sept. 20, “The impact of these policies all across this city, our state, and nation are terrifying. It’s like a dystopian sci-fi movie — unmarked cars, people in masks, people quite literally disappearing.” Local leader and State Senator Monique Limón said in a social media statement on September 8th, “Today’s ruling threatens our Constitution’s promise of equal protection under the law and freedom from illegal searches and seizures. This ruling will potentially open the floodgates to law-abiding citizens being detained by masked agents and amplify the tensions we are already seeing in our community. Speaking Spanish is not an indicator of someone’s citizenship. The color of someone’s skin is not an indicator of their citizenship. Where someone works is not an indicator of someone’s citizenship.”
In Santa Barbara, local ICE raids are affecting community members. The Santa Barbara Independent reported on Jul. 24 that more than 620 arrests have taken place in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties since Trump took office, and that number has continued to grow. Local organizations such as 805 Immigration Coalition and 805 UndocuFund are frontlining the Santa Barbara response to ICE by educating the community of their rights, reporting on ICE activity, and providing resources for legal aid. They encourage residents to report any ICE or Border Patrol activity by calling or texting (805) 870-8855.
