Federal immigration enforcement agents entered Allan Hancock College‘s Santa Maria campus Monday morning and detained the parent of a student.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrived at the campus around 9:45 a.m., detained the parent in Parking Lot 2 and immediately left, according to college communications director Lauren Milbourne.
She told Noozhawk that the college was not notified in advance that an ICE officer would be on campus and that the college “did not participate in or assist with the enforcement action.”
In response, several local officials condemned ICE’s presence on the college campus, including college Superintendent/President Dr. Kevin Walthers and two city council members representing communities in Santa Barbara’s North County.
“Allan Hancock College strongly condemns immigration enforcement actions that create fear and uncertainty for our students and their families,” Walthers said in an emailed statement. “Our campuses should be places where every student can learn, grow and pursue their goals without fear.”
During a press conference Monday afternoon, speakers included the student whose father was detained.
Her father was suffering from heart failure last year, and she had promised to keep him safe both inside and outside the hospital, said Mayrin, who did not share her last name.
“I promised my dad that I would protect him. I couldn’t. I broke my promise. Today, ICE took my dad while he was simply trying to drop me off,” Mayrin said. “I almost lost my dad because of heart failure, and now I’m facing the possibility of losing him because of ICE.”
At least 16 people were reportedly detained by ICE agents across the Santa Maria Valley on Monday, according to Anthony Rodriguez, a rapid response organizer for 805UndocuFund.
“We have to be proactive, not reactive. We need to establish sanctuary protocols now. We need to train staff on rights and emergency response, partner with legal aid networks before the crisis hits, and we need to stop voter intimidation. Ballots are arriving today while enforcement tactics are extremely escalating,” Rodriguez said.
Hancock Trustee Alejandra Enciso said students and families are being “separated with an unjust cause” and that ICE detainments don’t align with the school’s mission.
“[The] values that we represent at the school district is we want to make sure education is accessible to everyone, and everyone has a safe space to come and receive their education as they need it,” Enciso said. “By coming here and taking a family member of [students], it can set them back.”
Santa Maria Councilwoman Gloria Soto said she sent a formal request to ICE asking how many immigration enforcement operations it carried out in the city, and to ask whether agents had warrants signed by a judge.
She also urged her fellow council members to “stop standing on the sidelines and to take action.”
In March, Soto had urged the city to appoint an ad hoc committee focused on immigration matters, which failed in a tied vote.
“Between Christmas and New Year’s, it was 200-plus people taken. In one day, 16 plus, and this has been happening across the Central Coast for the last couple years,” Soto said Monday. “Silence is a choice.”
Guadalupe City Councilwoman Christina Hernandez said on social media that the incident “hits close to home” for her and other families in the community.
“In moments like this, we take care of each other. Check on your neighbors, share resources, and support those who may be afraid,” Hernandez said. “Our immigrant neighbors are part of our community and deserve dignity and respect. We take care of each other.”
ICE spokesman James Stossel of the Los Angeles office told Noozhawk that ICE “has no record of activity on Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria” on Monday morning.
Walthers told Noozhawk that someone specifically took a picture of officers wearing jackets that read “Police ICE.”
“We’ve talked to ICE today, and they’ve acknowledged that they were here,” Walthers said. “We had a verbal agreement that schools and churches would be safe for students to be able to study and for people to be able to worship, and that really puts that into question today when they come on campus and have students asking us, ‘How do we know we’re not going to see this again?’”
Allan Hancock College officials shared a list of resources for students, including the AIM to DREAM Center in the Santa Maria campus’ Building G, Room 101; hancockcollege.edu/rights; the 805 Immigrant Rapid Response Hotline, 805.870.8855; and the Immigrant Legal Defense Center, 805.886.9136.
“The Allan Hancock College Police Department does not detain, question or arrest individuals solely based on suspected undocumented immigration status,” campus officials said in an emailed statement Monday afternoon. “The college does not participate in federal immigration enforcement unless required by state or federal law, and student records remain confidential and are not released without appropriate legal authorization or as otherwise required by law.
“Allan Hancock College remains steadfast in our commitment to providing a safe, welcoming and supportive learning environment for all students, regardless of their immigration status or that of their family members.”
