CARPINTERIA, Calif. – People who live in Carpinteria said they were surprised to see an ICE raid in their town being shared on social media Monday morning after the Fourth of July weekend.
The video appears to show a raid in the Smart & Final parking lot off Linden Ave.
The store opens at 6 a.m. and the raid happened a short time later.
Agents wearing Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and customs enforcement jackets could be seen near a white truck.
Witnesses sharing posts online said they took two people into custody.
Some people, reluctant to be interviewed on camera, said they were people taken away didn’t belong here. Others voiced their concerns about losing members of the workforce.
Most agreed it is one of the most divisive issues in the country.
The raid didn’t stop a shopper from stopping at the store after watching the video.
“I follow some Instagram that’s how I knew there was a raid here in the parking lot,” said Guillermo G. “It makes me a little nervous sometimes, I know my family is personally affected by this, so this is very personal to me, I know this has been really hard on my family.”
Santa Barbara County Undersheriff Craig Bonner told your News Channel he was not aware of any form of federal activity until asked about it.
Bonner said they generally provide prior notice.
But the same can’t be said in other communities like Oxnard where police have asked them not to park in the public lot near the police station.
In June, President Trump said his “One Big, Beautiful Bill” would fund additional immigration raids across the country.
Due to funding approved in the budget before the holiday, this may be the new normal in communities up and down the coast and throughout the country.
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