Local elected officials are urging Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown to condemn militarized immigration enforcement.

More than two dozen local elected officials signed a letter asking Brown to use his position as president of the Major County Sheriffs of America, ​​a Washington D.C.-based law enforcement organization representing the nation’s largest sheriff’s offices, to stand up against the current federal administration’s immigration enforcement policy.

The letter was sent to Brown last week and was signed by Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, State Sen. Monique Limon, D-Santa Barbara, Assembly Member Gregg Hart, D-Santa Barbara, and individuals from the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, local city councils, and school boards. 

“As elected leaders in our community, we are horrified by the violent and militarized mass deportation campaign that is unfolding,” the letter states. “Every day, we hear from our constituents who are fearful and anxious about the heavy-handed immigration enforcement operations taking place.”

The letter was sent two weeks after federal agents raided Glass House Farms in Carpinteria, where they arrested 10 immigrants and used smoke and flash grenades on protesters. 

“As President of the Major County Sheriffs of America, you are in a unique position to call for the de-escalation of the attack on our immigrant communities,” the letter stated. “We call on you to do everything within your power as the leader of this national law enforcement advocacy organization to publicly stand up against the Administration’s dangerous immigration enforcement campaign that is putting your constituents in harm’s way.”

Brown told Noozhawk that he is not responding publicly to the letter as he feels that it would be inappropriate to do so. 

“As the president of the Major County Sheriffs, I represent a diverse constituency, and I’m working on this issue with my fellow sheriffs, but it’s not appropriate for us to publicly address this issue at this time,” Brown said. 

When Brown spoke at the Board of Supervisors hearing, he explained that while deputies don’t work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on their operations, county law enforcement officers also can’t intervene in federal operations.

Additionally, Brown encouraged the public to call on legislators to pass immigration reform policies. 

“The only way that this is all going to change is when enough people are heard on both sides of the aisle by our legislators and our legislators come together and craft and pass comprehensive immigration reform law, which needs to be done,” Brown said at the hearing. “The problem is on both sides of that aisle; this has been a wedge issue that the parties don’t want to solve.” 

Santa Barbara County Supervisors Laura Capps and Roy Lee both signed the letter.

After Brown spoke at a Board of Supervisors hearing on July 15, Capps told Noozhawk that she felt that Brown wasn’t “fully in step” with the rest of the community concerned about militarized enforcement.

“Hopefully this letter, and other forms of communication, helps him realize that we’re in for a long haul here with this administration and the terror that’s happening to people and we need protection,” Capps said. 

Ethan Bertrand, a member of the Goleta Union School District Board and a legislative district director with Assemblymember Hart’s office, started the call to the Sheriff when he spoke at a special Goleta City Council meeting last month. 

When he spoke during public comment, Bertrand noted that Brown was in a critical position to call for de-escalation. Goleta City Councilman James Kyriaco echoed Bertrand’s sentiments and called on Brown to speak out about the tactics used by immigration officials.

“When I really thought about it, I realized that our sheriff, with his national position, is possibly the best messenger to actually achieve the results we want to see,” Bertrand told Noozhawk. 

Bertrand was behind coordinating the letter along with a small core group of local leaders, and sent it to individuals on local school boards and governing bodies to sign. 

“We wanted to make sure that the community knows that the sheriff has this national leadership role and that he can be an agent for change on this policy topic,” Bertrand said. 

On July 21, before the special Goleta City Council meeting, Bertrand had sent a personal email to Brown to express his concerns and point out that Brown could speak out about this issue.

Bertrand said he never received a response, but he hopes Brown takes the letter to heart and pushes back on enforcement policies. 

“The sheriff could be a national hero in this moment,” Bertrand said. “He could be an adult in the room during this painful moment in our nation’s history. He could have a legacy of standing up and doing the right thing at a difficult time.”