Local law enforcement is meant to keep communities safe. They’re meant to serve and protect us, right? “Dedicated to Serve,” says Santa Barbara Police Department. “Community Based Policing,” echoes Santa Maria Police Department. “Safety, Service, and Security,” announces California Highway Patrol (CHP).
So why, when my community needed protection most, did those words ring hollow?
Santa Barbara County had been under attack all year. On Saturday, December 27, two days after Christmas and as families prepared to close out the year, our neighbors in Santa Maria were being terrorized. For four days, federal immigration agents persecuted the community, taking nearly 150 people, per the nonprofit organization, 805 Undocufund. They took people on their way to work, at their jobs, and even while grocery shopping. These were not targeted operations based on individual wrongdoing; they were broad, racially profiled sweeps aimed squarely at the Latino community…