| Hi Friend,
It’s been one week since our communities in Camarillo and Carpinteria were turned into war zones.
As I’m sure you know by now, heavily armed agents from ICE, CBP, DHS, and the National Guard raided workplaces and stormed through fields and neighborhoods, tearing farmworkers away from their families. They came in armored vehicles, masked and armed just like soldiers prepared for battle. They used tear gas, flash grenades, and rubber bullets on our neighbors – including pregnant women and children.
A City Councilmember was injured. A member of Congress was denied entry. A child was hit by shrapnel. A local veteran was detained for days without due process. A CSU professor was arrested. One worker was hospitalized and tragically died. 361 workers were disappeared by the armed and masked federal agents.
This was not law enforcement. This was an act of terror.
The Trump administration is weaponizing the federal government against immigrant workers and rural Californians. These attacks are meant to spread fear, suppress dissent, and racially profile entire communities with brutal, militarized tactics – targeting the very people that were deemed essential just five years ago. Now, farmworkers across the Central Coast face an impossible choice every day: lose the wages they need to pay for rent and groceries or go to work knowing they may not make it back home to their children.
The 805 refuses to stay silent.
Across the Central Coast, everyday people showed up to defend one another with courage, compassion, and solidarity. We showed them that we will not be intimidated.
Let’s make something very clear: criminalizing immigrant workers doesn’t stop exploitation – it fuels it. When ICE terrorizes workers, they are afraid to report wage theft, unsafe conditions, or abuse. That’s exactly what corporations who take advantage of immigrant workers want: a workforce too afraid to speak out.
But we are not going back. We are organizing forward.
Here’s how you can support right now:
- Donate to the Emergency Assistance Fund
805Undocufund is currently supporting hundreds of impacted families. 100% of donations go directly to those in need as they’re received. Support impacted families here!
- Get Trained for Rapid Response
The 805 Immigrant Coalition is planning upcoming trainings for those ready to take action on the ground and alert others to verified ICE presence. Follow the 805 Immigrant Coalition on Facebook and/or Instagram to learn more and stay updated.
This is the 805 – an agricultural region full of working families who believe in dignity, freedom, and justice. The federal government thought they could disappear our neighbors quietly. They were wrong.
Local grassroots organizations are rising up to meet this moment. We are urging local elected officials to take meaningful, systemic action – by ending collaboration with ICE, joining legal challenges against the Trump administration, supporting living wages for farmworkers, and allocating funds for deportation defense legal aid. At the same time, we are supporting community members in forming alert networks with coworkers and neighbors to organize collectively and ensure one another’s safety.
Together, we’re building the powerful, organized resistance our communities deserve – and we won’t stop until ICE is out of the 805.
In solidarity,
Lucas Zucker and Hazel Davalos
Co-Executive Directors
CAUSE |
