Unmarked vehicles consistent with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations were spotted near Turnpike Road in Goleta and in the Eastside neighborhood in Santa Barbara early Wednesday morning, according to community alerts issued by the 805 Immigrant Coalition’s Rapid Response Hotline.
At around 8 a.m. near Turnpike Road and Patterson Avenue in Goleta, witnesses reported that masked agents in three unmarked SUVs dragged one man out of his car, taking him away and leaving his Nissan Sentra on the side of the road with the keys left in the ignition. Volunteers with 805 UndocuFund recovered the keys to the vehicle and are attempting to locate family members of the man reportedly taken into custody.
Less than an hour later, at least four unmarked vehicles with tinted windows were seen on Santa Barbara’s Eastside at Alisos and Ortega streets. According to the alert issued by 805 UndocuFund on social media, at least one man was taken into custody in an aggressive manner. Advocates have started to refer to arrests as “ICE kidnappings.”…