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Residents press Camarillo council for transparency and limits on ICE cooperation after alleged local incidents
Summary
Multiple public commenters told the Camarillo City Council they have documented alleged ICE enforcement incidents, read names of people who died in ICE custody in 2025, and urged the council to adopt policies limiting cooperation with ICE and to require medical oversight and public reporting about 321 Cortez Circle.
At the Jan. 12 meeting of the Camarillo City Council and Camarillo Sanitary District, a lengthy public-comment period focused on alleged Central Coast immigration-enforcement actions, recent detainee deaths and local impacts at 321 Cortez Circle.
Denai Lassen told the council she had emailed members and cited reporting she said documented a wave of "kidnappings" during the Central Coast raids. Listing counts she said applied to late-December dates, Lassen told the council that regional totals "should give this council pause" and added: "If you are not prepared to meet this moment the way other leaders have shown is possible ... then step down." (speaker transcription supplied.)
Speakers read names and personal remembrances for people who reportedly died while in ICE custody in 2025. One commenter said, "2025 was the deadliest year for people in ICE custody in roughly 2 decades," and advocates at the microphone urged the council to demand transparency from federal authorities and to create local safeguards: limiting local cooperation with ICE, requiring independent medical oversight and publicly reporting conditions at 321 Cortez Circle.
Sarah Wojczeski summarized local impacts and requested specific city actions. Wojczeski said emergency services were called to Cortez Circle "22 times," described at least one local death she tied to an enforcement action, and asked the council: "What policies will the city of Camarillo commit to right now to prevent deaths in custody such as limiting cooperation with ICE?"
Council members accepted the comments and thanked speakers but did not announce any immediate policy changes or formal votes in response during the meeting. The clerk had reminded the public that the council "may not take action" on matters raised during general public comment but may briefly respond, seek clarification or refer matters to staff under Government Code section 54954.3.
The public-comment segment included multiple organizers calling for a local immigration stakeholders committee to coordinate rapid-response efforts and legal advocacy; several speakers urged the council to demand transparency and to track and publicly report local incidents tied to federal enforcement activity.
No formal council directives, ordinances or votes specific to these requests were recorded on the Jan. 12 transcript.
