Masked Federal Agents Come to Ojai, Depart with Unknown Number of Community Members
805 UndocuFund says “at least” four men were taken from the Ojai Valley on the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 16th.
Greetings readers.
As the sun rose over the Ojai Valley on Tuesday, December 16th, Ojai resident Christopher Cantu witnessed two individuals taken into custody by apparent federal officers, he said.
Ojai Police Chief Steve Jenkins confirmed ICE (U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) was in Meiners Oaks on the morning of Dec. 16th “for one target, one person with a warrant. I think they were here for about three hours waiting, trying to see the person — I think — come out of the house,” he said.
Cantu, a volunteer with immigrants’ rights organization VC Defensa, began driving toward Meiners Oaks from the Mira Monte area at approximately 6:40 a.m. on Dec. 16th, he said. On a side street off of El Roblar Ave., Cantu said he witnessed an individual with their hands behind their back being put into an unmarked vehicle by a masked officer. The vehicle, a blue Nissan Murano, had dark-tinted windows and flashing emergency lights, Cantu observed.
Another masked officer on the scene, Cantu said, was wearing a law-enforcement-style vest with the acronym “ERO.” (ERO stands for Enforcement and Removal Operations, it’s part of ICE.)
“Once they pulled away, I followed,” Cantu said. He followed the Murano for another minute and a half and arrived at the intersection of La Luna and El Roblar Ave., where Cantu observed a group of four or five vehicles gathered, partially blocking the road. He pulled over and saw a man with salt and pepper colored hair being handcuffed and placed into an unmarked vehicle.
The federal officers exited the scene shortly thereafter, and Cantu followed. They left by way of Ojai Avenue to Highway 33, he said. In just 15 minutes, he had observed two men taken into apparent federal custody.
According to VC Defensa and fellow immigrants’ rights organization 805UndocuFund, those weren’t the only two men taken into federal custody in the Ojai Valley that day.
“We can confirm there were at least three men taken yesterday in Meiners Oaks,” a representative from VC Defensa said Dec. 17th.
According to Beatriz Basurto of 805 Undocufund, however, that number is four. At least.
According to Basurto, there were two men taken into federal custody at the El Roblar and La Luna intersection, both from the same vehicle. “I think that’s plausible that as I arrived, I was seeing them put a second guy in [the unmarked ICE vehicle],” Cantu reflected. According to Basurto, another man was taken into federal custody along El Roblar Drive between 5:30-6 a.m. Including the two individuals Cantu witnessed being taken into custody, that makes four.
Basurto’s information comes from the families of the individuals taken into federal custody, she said. 805UndocuFund does not share any personal information regarding individuals targeted by ICE, or their families. (Understandable.)
So, exactly how many people were taken from the Ojai Valley by federal immigration officers on the morning of December 16th? The extremely uncomfortable answer is: I don’t know.
I’ve reached out to ICE’s public affairs team with some pretty basic questions: how many individuals ICE took into custody, what crimes are alleged, and how many federal officers were in the Ojai Valley on Dec. 16th. My questions were acknowledged, but never answered.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office can’t answer those questions either. “Keep in mind, they’re trying to tell me the bare minimum as they can, because they don’t want me sharing information either,” Police Chief Jenkins said. He does not know if ICE officials arrested their “target” on December 16th. “They didn’t tell me. And I’ll be honest, I didn’t call to ask.”
The California Values Act (also known as SB 54) prevents state and local law enforcement from participating in immigration enforcement. “SB 54 prevents us from assisting them in any way, as far as making the arrest or identifying someone. We don’t share information with them… We wouldn’t go and assist with the arrest. If they asked us, we would decline,” Jenkins explained, adding, “The only thing we can assist with is if they’re taking rocks and bottles.”
Jenkins stepped into the Ojai Police Chief role on April 13, 2025. Over those eight months, he’s received six notifications of ICE operations in the valley, including on December 16th. The next most recent ICE operation in Ojai for which Jenkins received a notification was July 9th.
However, Jenkins also confirmed that a VCSO deputy spotted ICE officials in the Ojai Valley on a seventh date, without receiving any formal notification.1
I asked Jenkins for comment on the witness account of two arrests, and 805UndocuFund’s account of four, given that he was informed of “one target.”
“They’ve told me this before,” Jenkins explained, referring to ICE officials. “If they’re looking for someone and they contact a second person with that person and their status is illegal, they will take that second person as well.”
There are two things I want to highlight before moving on. First, ICE can ask an individual’s immigration status, but that individual has the legal right to remain silent. Second, there’s an ongoing legal fight about what constitutes “reasonable suspicion” that an individual is in the U.S. illegally.
Readers, what we’re talking about is the federal government using racial profiling as “reasonable suspicion” that an individual is in the United States illegally.2
Brief Legal Interlude: Noem el al v. Perdomo et al.
On July 11th, U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong for the Central District of California issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing federal immigration officials in the Central District (which includes Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties) from using race, ethnicity, or an individual’s language skills as “reasonable suspicion” that an individual may be in the United States illegally.
Judge Frimpong’s 52-page court order includes the following observations:
“May the federal government conduct immigration enforcement — even large-scale immigration enforcement — in Los Angeles? Yes, it may.”
“Do all individuals — regardless of immigration status — share in rights guaranteed by the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution? Yes, they do.”
“Is it illegal to conduct roving patrols which identify people based upon race alone, aggressively question them, and then detain them without a warrant, without their consent, and without reasonable suspicion that they are without status? Yes, it is.”
As part of the TRO, Frimpong ordered that ICE officers may not solely rely on the following four factors (alone or in combination) to form “reasonable suspicion” when stopping or detaining an individual. The four factors are:
Apparent race or ethnicity;
Speaking Spanish or English with an accent;
Presence in a particular location (like a bus stop, car wash, tow yard, day laborer pick-up site, agricultural site, etc.); or
The type of work one does.
The federal government appealed Frimpong’s order, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, “in sum,” agreed with the district court. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, did not.
On September 8th, the Supreme Court weighed in via its “emergency docket,” or “shadow docket,” and voted to pause Frimpong’s order. Justice Brett Kavanaugh invoked “common sense.”
“To be clear, apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion; under this Court’s case law regarding immigration stops, however, it can be a ‘relevant factor’ when considered along with other salient factors… Under this Court’s precedents, not to mention common sense, those circumstances taken together can constitute at least reasonable suspicion of illegal presence in the United States.”
Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor filed a scathing dissenting opinion, writing:
“We should not have to live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low-wage job. Rather than stand idly by while our constitutional freedoms are lost, I dissent.”
Remember: the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protects “the right of the people… against unreasonable searches and seizures... but upon probable cause.”
It seems that a Supreme Court majority has signed off on racial profiling as probable cause.
Let’s turn our attention back to ICE’s operation in the Ojai Valley Dec. 16th.
One local woman, Rachel Oakland, told me that one of the men taken into ICE custody on Tuesday worked as her gardener. For the purposes of this story, let’s call him Juan.
“Tuesday [December 16th], my two guys that work on my yard didn’t come on time,” 95-year-old Oakland, a longtime Ojai Valley resident, explained.3 “But finally they came, and I was teasing one of them, saying, ‘I guess it was too cold for you.’ And he said, ‘No, no.’ He said that ICE had shown up this morning in Meiners Oaks and had taken [my gardener], his buddy. [ICE had] followed him in his car and dragged him out of his car and took him away… I totally fell apart because my parents were immigrants from Mexico many, many years ago.”
Juan’s employer did not wish to be named publicly — we’ll call him Fernando. (This story is full of pseudonyms, folks.4) Fernando confirmed that Juan was deported to Tijuana. I asked him how he is feeling in the wake of Juan’s detainment and deportation.
“Muy mal. Muy mal porque no son personas criminales. Son personas trabajadoras que vienen a trabajar para mantener sus familias.” Translation: “Very bad. Very bad because they are not criminals. They are hardworking people who come to work to support their families,” he said.
Fernando said that Juan had been in the United States for four years and had worked for him for one.
“Yo sé y todos sabemos que estamos en un país que no es de nosotros, ¿verdad? Pero no vinimos a hacerle mal a nadie. Y si ellos llegaran y hablaran bien, como personas, estaría bien. Pero llegan como animales ellos.” Translation: “I know, and we all know that we’re in a country that isn’t ours, right? But we didn’t come here to harm anyone. And if they were to come and talk to us nicely, like human beings, that would be fine. But they come like animals,” Fernando added.
The owner of a separate local landscaping company confirmed that another one of the men detained Dec. 16th — let’s call him Jorge — was his employee. This business owner also asked to remain anonymous — let’s call him Sam.
Sam confirmed that Jorge is in ICE detention currently, and that he has legal representation. Jorge has worked for Sam for the past 12 years.
“He’s in the process of becoming legal,” Sam said of Jorge. “They know that. For them to continue to detain him… It’s insane.”
Sam added angrily, “We are paying to put these guys in a detention center. Our [tax] money is going toward that.”
Sam’s right. Recall: President Donald Trump and Republican members of Congress passed President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” on July 4, 2025 on a party-line vote. The bill, in addition to slashing social safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP, dumped $165 billion into the Department of Homeland Security, with $45 billion going to detention centers and another $30 billion going to ICE.
Under this so-called “beautiful” law, "ICE and Border Patrol agents will also receive a $10,000 bonus for the next four years,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a press statement.
Community members expressed fear, concern, and disbelief about ICE’s presence in the Ojai Valley and wider Ventura County in the days and weeks leading up to Dec. 16th.
On Dec. 2nd, some 50 community members gathered for a Know Your Rights workshop with VC Defensa. The session, organized by the Nordhoff Parent Association and Ojai Rising, was primarily hosted in Spanish and focused on practical guidance for community members if confronted by ICE.
I’ll note that the Department of Homeland Security (ICE is one part of DHS) has publicly called VC Defensa a “violent group” and “a network that regularly impedes and obstructs law enforcement.”5
I’ll also note that federal agents are documented on video ramming into the vehicle of VC Defensa organizer Leo Martinez back in October. Subsequent reporting showed that those federal officers provided false statements to the Oxnard Police regarding the incident.
Martinez hosted the bulk of the December 2nd meeting in Ojai, alongside fellow VC Defensa volunteer Lainy Yompian.
Here’s a quick rundown of our collective rights in the event of a confrontation with federal agents. (Remember — like Judge Frimpong affirmed — the Constitution applies to everyone in the United States, regardless of citizenship status.)
You have the right to refuse to speak to an ICE agent. You can decline to answer any questions, specifically about your birthplace and immigration status.
You have the right to demand a warrant before you let anyone into your home or workplace.
You have the right to speak to a lawyer and the right to make a phone call.
You have the right to refuse to sign anything before you talk to a lawyer.
You have the right to refuse to show any documents before speaking with a lawyer.
If ICE is in the area, Yompian recommends creating “degrees of separation” between vulnerable people and federal agents, like a locked door. Federal officials cannot legally enter a private home or workplace without a warrant signed by a judge, she explained.
“One of the main questions that we get in these [Know Your Rights] workshops is, ‘Is it legal for [ICE] to act the way they act?’ Or, ‘I saw a video on TikTok [where] they broke someone’s window. Is that legal?’” Yompian reflected. “And most of the time the answer is, ‘no, it’s not, it’s an abuse of power.’”
One local parent who wished to remain anonymous shared her thoughts about ICE presence in the area. Let’s call her Carmen.
“Our Hispanic community is suffering right now with the ICE attacks around our county,” Carmen said. “Everybody outside with brown skin is at risk… We need everyone to fight with us.”
Carmen, whose children attend school in the Ojai Unified School District (OUSD), recounted in Spanish how her young daughter told her that she has a plan to distract ICE agents if they come to her school — so that her undocumented friend will have a chance to run.
“Eso es algo muy difícil de creerlo como papá, como mamá, pero es algo que está pasando,” Carmen said. Translation: This is something very difficult to believe as a parent, but it’s what is happening.
On December 15th, the night before ICE agents took an unknown number of people from the Ojai Valley, the OUSD School Board revisited its own policies relating to student privacy and immigration enforcement. They also discussed a draft letter to OUSD families regarding those policies. (Remember: all children are legally entitled to a public education, regardless of ability, language, or immigration status.)6
The Board didn’t take formal action during their Dec. 15th session, but they heard plenty of heart-rending comments from the public. One local parent described how her young son has become afraid of the sound of a knock at their door.
“When someone is knocking the door, he runs to the closet. He’s scared. He’s afraid. Please,” she begged.
OUSD Superintendent Sherrill Knox affirmed that if ICE officials attempted to enter an OUSD campus without a warrant, the campus would lock down. “We’ve had those conversations. It is real and on everybody’s mind who works on these sites, and they care,” Knox said. She confirmed that ICE has not attempted to enter an OUSD campus.
On Dec. 17th, Superintendent Knox sent a message to OUSD families acknowledging the ICE operation in Meiners Oaks the previous day, stating in part:
“We want to be very clear: Ojai Unified School District schools are safe places for all students. School site leaders are trained to follow established protocols, and ICE agents will not be permitted on any school campus unless they present a valid, signed judicial warrant. Without such a warrant, access to our campuses will be denied.
“Our schools do not inquire about the immigration status of students or families, and we do not collect or share such information. Our focus remains on providing a safe, welcoming, and inclusive learning environment where every child can learn and thrive.”
On Dec. 29th, (as I endeavor to wrap up this story) 805UndocuFund issued a “community alert” regarding what they called “escalating ICE raids across the Central Coast.”
Over the weekend of Dec. 27-28th, 805UndocuFund and partners confirmed “58 ICE kidnappings across the Central Coast,” referring to operations in Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, Lompoc, Santa Maria and Santa Barbara.
805UndocuFund’s community alert follows a a Dec. 28th Washington Post report on federal immigration agents’ increased presence in communities nationwide.
Another recent analysis of ICE data by The Guardian shows that the number of people in U.S. immigration detention reached an all-time-high on Dec. 14th. They also found that immigrants with no criminal record make up the largest group in immigration detention.
Still, DHS officials continue to insist they are “targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens — including murderers, rapists, gang members, pedophiles, and terrorists.”
I asked Sam — the boss of one of the detained men — for comment on this accusation.
“It’s complete bullshit,” he said.
Readers, this is a story full of uncomfortable questions and too few answers.
One of my interviewees, another individual I’m not going to name, looked at me, shook his head, and said:
“It’s some Anne Frank shit that’s going on.”
Indeed.
I recommend that readers who wish to stay up-to-date on ICE action in the Ojai Valley sign up for alerts from 805Undocufund and/or VC Defensa.
As always, thank you for being here.
One of my ongoing projects is tracking ICE detainments in the Ojai Valley, and the individuals taken from our community. Please reach out if you have information to share.
Crossing a United States border without documentation is a misdemeanor.
I also discovered that Oakland is the mother of my first-grade teacher. That, my friends, is Ojai.
It’s extremely alarming (given the First Amendment) and completely understandable that folks are fearful of speaking on the record.
The same DHS spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, also accused Ojai-area Congressman Salud Carbajal of “doxing ICE personnel and inciting a mob of rioters to attack law enforcement” in a now-deleted press statement.
That’s democracy!
Excellent article. Thank you.
Thanks for being what little transparency is possible