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Central Coast Organizations Respond to Workplace Raids in Agricultural Fields
Image courtesy of MICOP. See more videos from the event here and here. See more information here
(Amigos805.com Editor’s Note: Also see national new stories about immigration raids in the 805 region courtesy of ABC7 News, KTLA 5, NBC LA and MSNBC.
VENTURA — In response to escalating federal immigration raids, the deployment of National Guard troops at peaceful protests in Los Angeles, and the confirmed presence of ICE activity across Ventura County the “ICE Out of Ventura County and 805 Immigrant Coalition,” with community partners held a press conference on June 12 in front of the County of Ventura Government Center.
“ICE Out of Ventura County” is a call to action against the ongoing criminalization and militarization targeting our immigrant and Indigenous neighbors.
(MICOP also announced that a press conference was also on June 12 at the Joseph Centeno Betteravia Administration Building in Santa Maria featuring a variety of migrant community support organizations.)
“These past few days have been incredibly painful for our community, beginning with the unjust raids targeting our hardworking brothers and sisters across various industries in Los Angeles. But nothing prepared us for the devastation of what happened here at home,” stated MICOP’s Community Organizing Director Juvenal Solano, “On Tuesday, June 10, our city of Oxnard was the target of mass raids—families ripped apart in an instant, children left waiting for parents who never came home. The heartbreak is unbearable. The rage is deep.”
ICE activity increased this week with community members being detained in the fields of Oxnard, Camarillo, and surrounding areas. Farmworkers were detained by ICE & Border Patrol, while others remained stranded at their place of work in fear of being detained. The 805 Immigrant Coalition reports that at least 35 kidnappings occurred in Ventura County on June 10th alone and an additional 5 in Santa Maria. The number of confirmed immigration apprehensions under the current administration across the Central Coast is now 116 and rising.
“Community response and defense was very effective, demonstrating the power of brave nonviolent resistance to ICE’s tactics of terror. Farms knew their constitutional rights to not allow entry onto private property without a judicial warrant. ICE was turned away. This shows they don’t have warrants for people, just indiscriminately attacking immigrant communities like Oxnard and Santa Maria for anyone they can find to meet their politically driven quotas. This exposes that the Trump Administration’s claims of targeted enforcement were always a bold-faced lie. They are seizing our family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers.” — 805 Undocufund Executive Director, Primitiva Hernandez
The 805UndocuFund 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.”
“Yesterday at least 40 workers were taken by ICE in the first major sweep of workplace raids in the agricultural fields of the Central Coast. This number would’ve been much higher if it hadn’t been for powerful organizing and informed employers. CAUSE was in touch with workers at 9 ranches that ICE attempted to enter, fortunately employers denied entry at these workplaces. In partnership with the 805 immigrant coalition rapid response team we dispatched volunteers to give over 100 farmworkers a ride home to safety.” — CAUSE Co-Executive Director, Lucas Zucker
The 805 Immigrant Coalition will be joined on Thursday by community partners including: Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP), Buen Vecino, Ventura County Farm Bureau, VC Defensa, Law Office of Vanessa Frank, Future Leaders of America, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice-Ventura County & others. This local coalition is uniting during an important moment for all Californians, where big cities and small farming towns are coming together to unite against this abuse of power and to stand up for our freedoms and our neighbors regardless of our skin color or where we come from.
Farmworker organizations across the state demand that Governor Newsom follow up his words of support with action by having the state provide financial assistance to immigrant workers so they can shelter in place and be able to stay safe at home with their families, without wondering how they’re going to pay the rent.
This moment is part of a long and ongoing history of state-sanctioned violence that targets Brown, Black, Indigenous, Immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities alike. Our struggles are interconnected, as is our power. We call on all communities to stand in solidarity and in defense of our dignity, safety, and rights. We urge nonprofits, labor unions, faith communities, student groups, and all justice-minded individuals and organizations to join us tomorrow as we urge our county, state, and federal elected officials to get ICE OUT OF VENTURA County & demand solidarity and respect for our local community. To coordinate efforts or join local response networks, contact 805 Immigrant at executivedirector@805undocufund.org.
About 805 Immigrant
Una coalición en los condados de San Luis Obispo, Santa Bárbara y Ventura que protege y aboga por los derechos de las comunidades inmigrantes en la costa central.
A Coalition in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties that protects and advocates the rights if the immigrant communities in the central coast.
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