An investigation into ICE arrests - Santa Barbara News-Press

In our top story, Santa Barbara News-Press investigative reporter Lillian Perlmutter brings you the most comprehensive deep dive yet into ICE arrests at Santa Barbara County jails.

Perlmutter spent several months interviewing former inmates, people who had been deported, their families and attorneys, as well as examining documents and relentlessly pursuing the facts surrounding ICE arrests.

Her reporting reveals that while only a small number of jail inmates have been transferred to ICE officially, dozens more people have been arrested by immigration agents in lobbies and parking lots outside Santa Barbara County jails in the past year.

While the official number of jail transfers for the year was 12, federal data suggests in 2025, ICE arrested eight times that number in county jails.

Perlmutter, who is bilingual, grew up in Santa Barbara County and spent years as a correspondent in Mexico before joining our team. Here, she carefully crafts a story about what’s really happening.

Also in today’s newsletter, the Santa Barbara News-Press welcomes back Jesse Chavarria, who debuts his column about life and culture in Santa Maria.

Chavarria worked as a columnist and editor at the Santa Barbara News-Press in the late 1990s an early 2000s. His column, “A New Wave,” about Latino culture, was popular among readers.

Chavarria, who grew up in Santa Maria, will offer his unique perspective on Latino culture and life in Santa Maria. Check out his first column this week.

Joshua Molina

News-Press Editor

Local voices

Rori Trovato, founder, is a trained chef whose background spans pastry, catering and teaching in France. (Photo by Joy Martin/Special for the News-Press)

“When we opened Montecito, nobody knew who we were. Now it’s such a different experience opening a store where the town really knows you.”
— Rori Trovato