A man was taken by ICE agents outside of an Albertsons in Carpinteria early Monday morning, an event that shook the community and that some say is part of a larger surge of federal immigration enforcement across Santa Barbara County.
Volunteers for Carpinteria Sin Fronteras, an organization that documents Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Carpinteria, filmed a man being detained by ICE agents against a pile of pumpkins at 5:45 a.m. on Monday outside of Albertsons at 1018 Casitas Pass Road, according to a post on Instagram.
The event put the community and surrounding areas in the county on edge.
“We had customers in here who were hiding,” said Verenice Diaz, employee at Case Don Roge. “There were a few who ran [inside] and didn’t want to leave”
While ICE agents were seen in Carpinteria this week, reports from several activist groups tracking federal immigration activity have also documented people detained in Santa Maria and Guadalupe. The parent of an Allan Hancock student was detained after leaving campus on Oct. 5.
“Over the past seven days we’ve documented over 100 kidnappings and family separations,” said Anthony Rodriguez, rapid response organizer for 805 Undocufund. “And that’s across Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.”
805 Undocufund also works with organizations like Carpinteria Sin Fronteras, as well as SB Resiste, and VC Defensa.
Rodriguez said he has seen a surge in federal immigration activity on the Central Coast in the last week.
“We’ve lost humanity,” Rodriguez said. “And if you saw the footage of Carpinteria then you know what I’m talking about.”
In Carpinteria, Diaz helps her mom run the Mexican bakery located on 4912 Carpinteria Ave. She said some of the employees learned that the man who was detained by ICE on Monday had been a customer in the past.
Many of their regular customers at the bakery come to buy coffee or eat tamales and bread early in the morning before heading to work, Diaz said. On Monday, she said many people didn’t show up to eat.
“We had people who called and placed their orders and never came to pick them up because they never left their house,” Diaz said. “They were scared to leave.”
Even on Tuesday, Diaz said they did not serve as many customers as they usually do.
“What happens is when they hit our town, everyone gets very scared and they’re on edge for a few days,” Diaz said.
Some people were anticipating ICE agents in the area after the surge of activity in Santa Maria and Guadalupe last week, Diaz said.
But she hopes to continue providing service to customers during the heightened fear of immigration enforcement in the community.
“We really don’t know that the future holds for us,” Diaz said. “I think the community is staying together and being strong about all this. I think we can get a lot done just by doing that.”
