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Santa Maria residents press council over recent ICE raids; council agrees to request DHS information
Summary
After multiple public commenters described aggressive ICE enforcement, the city council agreed by consensus to request information from the Department of Homeland Security about recent operations and to consider an immigration ad hoc committee; staff said many events occurred in county jurisdiction and police had limited prior notice.
Public concern about recent federal immigration enforcement dominated the public‑comment period of the Santa Maria City Council meeting on Nov. 18, prompting the council to indicate a consensus to submit a request for information to the Department of Homeland Security.
Residents and advocates urged the council to form an ad hoc immigration committee immediately, not in February as previously proposed. Pam Gates of Indivisible Santa Maria criticized the delay, saying the council “missed an opportunity” to address urgent community safety concerns after what she and others described as aggressive ICE tactics. Cliff Solomon, also with Indivisible, urged the…
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