ORANGE COUNTY IS UNDER ESCALATING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT, AND OUR COMMUNITIES ARE IN DANGER.
Since Monday, October 5, the Orange County Rapid Response Network (OCRRN) has documented a massive surge in immigration enforcement across our community, from La Habra to San Clemente. We are seeing more warrantless arrests and more unidentified federal vehicles, filled with violent masked agents on our streets.
Through our hotline and our community partner self-defense networks, we are receiving ongoing reports (over 100 as of October 12) that people are being targeted at the Santa Ana ICE Field Office, at the USCIS office in Tustin, on their way to work, and since the announcement of the so-called “Operation Safe California,” in racially targeted, indiscriminate street arrests carried out without warrants.
What we can confirm:
- Unmarked federal vehicles are patrolling predominantly Latinx neighborhoods. They range from sedans to SUVs, and many have no license plates. Our partners at the OC Community Self Defense Coalitions are posting daily “BOLOs” (Be On The Lookout) on Instagram.
- Agents are waiting outside workplaces and near schools. Their presence is spreading fear among people just trying to get to work, school, and home.
- Violence is increasing. We have received reports of community members injured by immigration agents during abductions, including a community member who was exercising their legal right to observe.
This dangerous escalation is happening with almost no media coverage and no meaningful response from our local officials. Silence from those with power to act is a choice, and our neighbors are paying for it.
OCRRN and our partners demand an immediate end to these civil rights abuses and indiscriminate attacks. Our communities deserve transparency, accountability, and protection from abuses of power. We will not stay silent while our neighbors are hunted, and we call on local officials, the press, and the public to act now.