O.C. politicians denounce ICE raids as the National Guard deploys in Santa Ana
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Rep. Lou Correa assembled community leaders in front of his 46th District congressional office in Santa Ana to send a message following a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps in the city that stoked fears, spread confusion and spurred angry downtown protests.
“We want to tell America who Santa Ana is [and] what this immigration issue is all about,” Correa, a Democrat, said during a Tuesday morning news conference. “It’s not us versus them. We are all part of the American fabric, part of the American community.”
Correa flew to Washington, D.C. on Monday, but immediately boarded a flight back home once he learned of ICE raids carried out in Santa Ana as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
By then, the Orange County Rapid Response Network, a coalition that monitors ICE activities, spread the word about immigration authorities arresting workers at locations like a Fountain Valley carwash and outside of a Home Depot in Santa Ana.
Based on a Tuesday morning visit to an ICE detention facility in Santa Ana, Correa placed the number of immigrants in custody at 31 and described seeing a couple of detainees still wearing their painter overalls. He noted an accurate count is hard to pin down with multiple federal agencies involved in the enforcement actions.
ICE did not respond to a TimesOC request for confirmation of the number of unauthorized immigrants arrested by press deadline.
The Orange County sweeps followed ICE activity, raids and protests against them over the weekend in Los Angeles County as the Trump administration has since deployed the California National Guard and U.S. Marines to Southern California.
Law enforcement agencies responding to downtown Los Angeles protests arrested 163 people through Monday.
In response to news of O.C. immigration sweeps, activists gathered outside of the federal building in Santa Ana on Monday to protest.
Federal agents shot pepper balls to disperse people who attempted to block vans from exiting the building.
The protest swelled in numbers around Civic Center Plaza in downtown when the Santa Ana Police Department declared an unlawful assembly at about 8:30 p.m. Fireworks exploded near local and federal authorities. Some protesters also hurled rocks, bottles and other projectiles toward law enforcement.
Officers shot pepper balls, tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowds.
Natalie Garcia, a spokesperson for the Santa Ana Police Department, confirmed that officers arrested 11 people Monday on suspicion of failure to disperse, assault on an officer and vandalism.
In Sacramento Tuesday, the California Latino Legislative Caucus held a news conference where Assemblyman Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) denounced the ICE raids, as the 68th District he represents includes Santa Ana.
“It really is heartbreaking to witness what is unfolding in our communities across our state,” he said. “Let me be clear: President Trump is using these raids to intimidate our communities and instill fear.”
“This deportation tactic that the president is implementing is about demonstrating his ability to govern through brute force,” Valencia added.
Other Santa Ana elected officials held another press conference in front of the Old Orange County Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon.
Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento recalled consoling a woman whose uncle was detained by immigration authorities at a Santa Ana Home Depot while seeking work.
“To the federal administration, we demand that you take your militarized equipment and troops and stop occupying our communities immediately,” he said. “Yesterday, I personally witnessed the efforts of ICE officers clearly intending to escalate what was a lawful and peaceful demonstration.”
In downtown Santa Ana, National Guard troops in beige camouflage with rifles slung on their shoulders blocked vehicle access along 4th Street near the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse on Tuesday morning.
Correa told TimesOC that it’s an “irony” that National Guard troops are in Santa Ana when, on Jan. 6, 2021, they hadn’t been deployed during the pro-Trump Capitol riot in Washington, D.C. as he took cover in the House chamber.
Correa called for protests to be peaceful in the non-violent tradition of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the press conference while also deeming the ICE raids to be “counterproductive.”
“If you’ve got serious, violent criminals in our community, come get them,” he said. “But workers that are taking care of our seniors, feeding us, being part of the economic miracle that’s called California, let’s work on that. We need immigration reform.”
Even before Monday’s raids, federal agents arrested individuals after their ICE check-in appointments in Santa Ana on June 6.
“It’s my understanding that in a lot of cases, they’re going before a judge,” Correa told TimesOC. “Authorities will, essentially, dismiss an order of deportation. [But] before they walk out, they’re rearrested and put on an expedited order of deportation.”
As the Trump administration deployed 700 active-duty Marines, some of them remain at the Naval Weapons Station in Seal Beach. They have not appeared in Santa Ana as of Tuesday evening. Correa told the press that his community does not need Marines.
“What are we coming to?” he said. “This is not America.”
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