WATSONVILLE — Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested two Santa Cruz County residents on Wednesday and Thursday, which was part of an effort to round up undocumented immigrants throughout the Central Coast.
According to the group Sanctuary Santa Cruz, the federal agents arrested a man at his place of employment in Santa Cruz on Wednesday, and a Watsonville man early Thursday morning.
The Watsonville man, who is a father of two teens, was deported in 2010, the group said. The teens are currently staying with other family.
Ernestina Saldana of Sanctuary Santa Cruz said the group will provide emotional, financial and legal support for the men and their families.
“I’m making a call to all volunteers to print red cards from our website and distribute it widely were you live or work, where you go for lunch or dinner,” she said.
Saldana also asked residents to be on “high alert.”
“Families have now been split,” she said. “A wave of fear has blast through our immigrant communities. We need to stand as one, in every neighborhood. Santa Cruz must not allow this to happen.”
ICE raids also occurred in King City, where nine people were arrested, and also in Soledad and Salinas.
The ICE agents did not work with local authorities during the arrests. Agents gave a “courtesy call” to Watsonville Police Department to let local authorities they would be here, WPD Sgt. Brian Ridgway said.
“We have no contact with them,” he said.
Those arrested bypassed local jails and were transported to a federal facility.
ICE did not make such a call to Santa Cruz Police Department, spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke said.
ICE spokesman James Schwab said the agency is looking for dangerous people who are a threat to the public, and will be in the area for the next couple of days.
Paulina Moreno of the Santa Cruz County Immigration Project said the arrests came as no surprise.
She said that anyone seeking legal advice about an immigration matter should avoid services such as notaries that charge large sums of money. There are several organizations that provide legal services to immigrants for free, she said.
“The Immigration Project is definitely a resource, and we hope people will reach out to organizations who are here for them,” she said.
Moreno also urged immigrants to develop emergency plans in case they are arrested. This includes a childcare safety plan, she said.
“They need to have these conversations ahead of time,” she said.
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Information on specific detainees is available at https://locator.ice.gov/odls/homePage.do.
