Community asks Oxnard city officials for $1M to address crisis caused by ICE raids

In the wake of unrelenting ICE raids across Ventura County, the fallout in Oxnard has been immediate and devastating: children stranded without guardians, businesses scrambling to fill empty shifts and families torn apart overnight. Now, community members are turning to Mayor Luis A. McArthur and the City Council with a clear message—this crisis can’t be ignored. They are demanding leadership, transparency and a concrete plan to protect the most vulnerable.

“This Tuesday, July 29, the people of Oxnard are mobilizing and heading to the City Council meeting to demand justice,” Primitiva Hernandez, Executive Director of 805UndocuFund, told CALÓ News.  The organization mobilizes resources during times of crisis, provides short-term financial relief to undocumented residents and advocates for systemic change to ensure that immigrants are included in disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery efforts.

“The City of Oxnard has remained silent in the face of a humanitarian crisis, failing to provide support or resources to immigrant and Indigenous communities devastated by the recent wave of violence and militarized immigration raids in our region,” Hernandez added.

In a collective letter led by the 805 Immigrant Coalition and slated for delivery ahead of Oxnard’s July 29 City Council meeting, community members are calling on city officials to take a clear and forceful public stand in the wake of recent federal immigration raids. The letter urges the City to commit substantial resources to support families torn apart by enforcement actions. At the center of their demands is a call for the City to allocate at least $1 million in emergency relief funding—a lifeline for families reeling from the trauma of family separation and economic disruption.

Willie Lubka, Executive Director of Buen Vecino and one of the steering committee members of the 805 Immigrant Rapid Response Network, said the letter aims to hold officials accountable. “The point here is not to criticize our elected officials. It's to remind them that they're accountable to the community and urge them to take action in a way that the community sees,” Lubka told CALÓ News.

The 805 Immigrant Coalition is calling on the City to respond with a five-point plan:

1. Emergency funding: Allocate at least $1 million for housing support, food assistance, and legal services for impacted families.
   
   

2. City resources for community response: Make public spaces and city infrastructure available to grassroots organizations and community-led groups providing aid, legal clinics and mutual support.
   
   

3. Public condemnation of the raids: Issue a formal statement denouncing the ICE raids and affirming Oxnard’s commitment to protecting immigrant residents.
   
   

4. Long-term protection plan: Develop a comprehensive plan that includes access to trauma-informed mental health services, family reunification support and public education campaigns on Know Your Rights and emergency preparedness.
   
   

5. Legal action: Join ACLU’s federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the recent raids and the use of force by federal agents.
   
   

The plea for action comes amid rising concern that Oxnard’s current policies do not go far enough to shield residents from the violence caused by immigration enforcement. Although the city has declared itself a “safe city” and limits police cooperation with ICE to what is "federally required," those limits remain poorly defined and largely unenforced, according to advocates.

“Between the community, our local law enforcement and our government institutions, there's a feeling of people being abandoned,” Lubka told CALÓ News. “We have these goons running around the neighborhood like gangsters—unchecked—smashing car windows, tackling people to the ground, assaulting them and no one is being held accountable.”

The raids have also exposed deep vulnerabilities in the city’s safety net. In neighborhoods where many residents don't have legal status or have mixed status, the detention of one adult can mean the collapse of an entire household. Without access to public aid, families are left scrambling to pay rent, secure childcare and cover legal expenses. In some cases, entire households have gone into hiding—afraid to seek services, show up to work or even open their front doors.  In Oxnard, the toll has been especially severe.

“Most of the individuals taken during the raid at Glass House Farms in Camarillo were Oxnard residents,” said Hernandez. “More than 300 families have been torn apart. Children have been left without parents. Teenagers are stepping in to raise their siblings. Neighbors are caring for each other’s children. This is a community in crisis—and Oxnard’s silence is unacceptable.”

The coalition is also urging the city to stand with other California communities that have taken a more aggressive legal and political stance against ICE operations. In joining the ACLU lawsuit, Oxnard would signal its refusal to remain silent as federal agents continue to carry out what advocates describe as unlawful and unconstitutional raids.

As federal immigration crackdowns leave deep scars across Oxnard, the question facing city leaders is stark: Will they rise to meet the urgency of the moment, or retreat into silence? For families who have watched loved ones disappear into detention, the absence of a strong response is no longer tolerable.

“We will not allow silence to be the city’s response to injustice. We demand action. We demand accountability. We demand justice,” Hernandez told CALÓ News.