Drastic Drop in ICE Pickups in Santa Barbara County
61 Percent Decrease in ICE Pickups From 2018-2019
Thirty-eight undocumented immigrants were detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Santa Barbara County in 2019.
The number was reported Tuesday as part of an annual Truth Report, which is mandated by law to “provide information to the public about ICE’s access to individuals and to receive and consider public comment.” As it turns out, 38 was a drastic drop from the year before. In 2018 there were 98 “ICE pickups” in Santa Barbara — a 61 percent decrease from 2019 to 2018.
“I have good friends and neighbors who are genuinely afraid of law enforcement,” said Landon Ranck, a lifelong resident of Santa Barbara who spoke with 14 others at public comment. “They are afraid of the repercussions that any sort of interaction with law enforcement could have because of potential connections with ICE…. We’ve seen precedence for this in Los Angeles. They’ve halted all transfers to ICE and we as a county can do that.”
