The Santa Ana Police Department is facing criticism after police officers arrested two female “ICE watchers” because it said it received a request for assistance from two off-duty federal agents who said they were being followed by multiple individuals.
Read more Another court declares Ohio school choice voucher program unconstitutional
Santa Ana remains Orange County’s only official sanctuary city, its elected leaders promising the city would not assist federal agencies with Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions.
But critics are equating the arrests with helping ICE. Immigrant rights advocates and several elected officials, including Councilmember Jesse Lopez and Second District OC Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, held a press conference in front of the police station Thursday afternoon to demand the release of the two women.
Lopez said enforcement of the sanctuary city law rests with the city’s leadership.
“How willing is our political will under this council to hold the city manager and this workforce accountable?” she said. “How many more times do we need to say from the dais that we don’t want our public resources being used in this disgusting way against our constituents?”
The two female ICE watchers, ages 25 and 33, were detained around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14, in front of the SAPD station. They were arrested on suspicion of stalking, criminal conspiracy and resisting or obstructing a peace officer, pending further investigation, according to SAPD spokesperson Officer Natalie Garcia.
Police said officers received a request for assistance from two off-duty federal agents who said multiple people in a vehicle were following them after they left a federal building in Santa Ana, Garcia said. SAPD officers then responded to the scene, she said, which was “based on the investigation and the agents’ desire for prosecution.”
Federal agents said the women blocked their vehicle in an alley before continuing to follow them toward the SAPD station, including running two red lights to “maintain contact” with their vehicle, Garcia said. Once at the station, the individuals reportedly parked directly behind the agents and used a megaphone to yell “obscenities” at them, Garcia said.
As of Thursday afternoon, the women had not been charged by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. They remained booked in the Orange County Jail.
Sarmiento, whose Second District includes Santa Ana, said it’s not clear that the arrests themselves violate the sanctuary city ordinance because the stalking charges the women are facing constitute a penal code offense rather than a federal one. But the sanctuary law does broadly prohibit local police from facilitating or sharing information with federal agents, he said.
Read more Wildfires, heat, food insecurity, lack of medical care affect Californians’ health: UCLA survey
“Here, obviously, it appears there is facilitation in the apprehension of the legal observers,” Sarmiento said. “And it’s sent a chilling effect to other legal observers who are trying to protect their own communities but are now fearful of their own safety.”
Around two dozen protesters participated in Thursday’s press conference, hoisting signs like “ICE Out” and “legal observing is not a crime.”
Lopez and immigration leaders disputed the Police Department’s assertion that the women’s actions had made the agents feel “unsafe.”
“The men weren’t scared,” Lopez said, adding the agents were armed while the observers were not. “They’re on video flexing, laughing. Are they so afraid they’re having a good time?”
An organizer with the OC Community Self-Defense Coalition said continued cooperation with federal agents is a clear violation of the sanctuary city policy and the reason why people become legal observers.
Sean Garcia-Leys, an attorney for the two women, said ICE watching is a constitutionally protected right, the purpose of which is to both observe federal enforcement activities and warn the community about them. Simply following the agents does not constitute criminal stalking, Garcia-Leys said, unless the agents can demonstrate that the observers posed a “credible threat” or had “intent to harm.”
Authorities said the federal agents reported recognizing the women from two previous federal operations in La Habra, though it was not immediately clear if that occurred the same day.
Details regarding which federal agency the off-duty officers worked for and the circumstances of their operations in the areas were not available.
“For operational security and the safety of our officers, ICE never discloses or discusses law enforcement operations,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Thursday. “Under President (Donald) Trump and Secretary (Markwayne) Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences. Illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.”
Read more Former OC prosecutor who alleged sexual harassment, retaliation receives $800,000 settlement
DHS deferred additional questions to the Santa Ana Police Department.