Oxnard votes to join the ACLU lawsuit targeting ICE raids as unconstitutional

In a decisive 5–1 vote on Monday afternoon, the Oxnard City Council authorized the city to join a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and other groups against the Trump administration, taking a direct stand against what advocates call a wave of unconstitutional immigration raids terrorizing California communities.

"I took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California," Oxnard Councilmember Gabe Teran told CALÓ News. "I can't sit idly by and allow a higher level of government to violate the Constitution as I see it and not say anything or not take action to defend those constitutional rights that people have." 

Reflecting on his decision to support the federal lawsuit, Councilmember Teran added, "I am a major supporter, advocate, proponent for our marginalized communities, for our lower socio-economic status communities, and our farm worker and undocumented communities."

That same urgency reverberates beyond City Hall. "Business here has dropped 60 to 70 percent, and we used to have around five employees—now there are just two of us," Marisol, a food service worker at Tacos Beto in Oxnard, told CALÓ News as she stood behind a counter that was once bustling with customers but now sits largely quiet. 

Marisol, who asked to be identified only by her first name, now worries about how she'll manage after her employer cut her hours from full-time to part-time. "It's not just the raids," she added quietly. "It's the fear that lingers after. People are afraid to come out, even to eat."

That fear was voiced by dozens of community members during last week's City Council meeting, urging the city to take action.

Oxnard Councilmember Bert E. Perello cast the lone dissenting vote against joining the federal lawsuit, although he said he was a member of the ACLU. 

"The joining of the ACLU lawsuit, the people that support and are members of the ACLU are the ones that do that," Councilmember Perello said during last week's City Council meeting. "I've been a member since I was 18."

Oxnard Councilmember Aaron Starr abstained from the vote to join the federal lawsuit. At the prior City Council meeting, he voiced his reservations, stating, "I think that, you know, there are many laws I disagree with, but I don't think we can break them. I think we have to follow those laws."

Oxnard Councilmember Gabriela Rodríguez pointed out that joining a federal lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of immigration enforcement practices is a legal course of action, not an act of lawbreaking. 

"This action is not only legally sound—it is a necessary stand for justice and human dignity," Councilmember Rodríguez said. "By joining this lawsuit, we are affirming our values as a community: that every person deserves to be treated with respect and protected from discrimination, regardless of their background or immigration status. This is about more than a legal filing—this is about standing on the right side of history."

According to Primitiva Hernandez, executive director of 805UndocuFund, no community has borne the weight of the recent ICE raids more heavily than Oxnard. Many of the workers arrested in the raid at Glass House Farms in Camarillo were Oxnard residents. It was during that raid that Jaime Alanís García lost his life.

"This is a move in the right direction," Hernandez said, "and we urge them to continue working with us to address urgent needs by allocating $1 million in emergency funds for housing, food, and legal support; providing city resources and public spaces to community groups; and developing a long-term protection and recovery plan with mental health services, family reunification, and Know Your Rights education."

The priorities Hernandez outlined echo the demands laid out in a collective letter submitted by the 805 Immigrant Coalition to the City Council ahead of the vote. Signed by more than 100 Oxnard residents, workers, and business owners, the letter called on city leaders not only to join the lawsuit but to take concrete, community-centered steps to support those most directly impacted by the raids.

CALÓ News reached out to all City of Oxnard Councilmembers, but only Councilmembers Teran and Rodríguez were available for comment.