ICE Raids
As a result of the current government administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids have become extremely prevalent in Southern California. The Trump administration aims to detain thousands of undocumented individuals daily and have thus led to many people being taken away. Consequently, many protests against the administration and ICE activities began, especially in Los Angeles. President Trump then sent the national guard, which only erupted into more protests and manifestations around the state, and around the country.
Some of the people stopped, were even being detained for “looking” undocumented. One of these individuals, Pedro Vasquez Perdomo, challenged his unlawful stop claiming it violated the 4th amendment. The Supreme Court then temporarily stopped a lower federal court’s decision that would not permit ICE and other immigration related organizations to stop or make investigations based on perceived race, location, spoken language, accent, and other factors of individuals. Ultimately, allowing ICE agents and other immigration related agencies to racially profile individuals.
Oceanside Community
The growing fear of being detained in North County has become real for some families in the Oceanside area. One family, the Robles Ortega family, had their apartment windows shattered, and awoke to the sound of grenades being set off by ICE agents at 6 in the morning. The adolescents in this family, ages 14 and 17, were both handcuffed despite being citizens. Agents dragged the mother by her hair and used force. These violent detentions only fed the very real fear in the community, and the lack of action from city council led to the community coming together to create the Community Trust Resolution.
Juanito Xōchipilli Conoro, a recent California State University, San Marcos graduate who is also co-chair of the Human Rights Council of Oceanside, explains that this resolution was created for the Oceanside community, by community members. They explained how this resolution “was going to be for the city to recognize that a certain community in the city of Oceanside has been impacted… the immigrant community: which consists of mixed status people.” Xōchipilli Conoro further explained the points listed on the resolution, which included creating signs designating private and public spaces, making “know your rights” information accessible in public spaces city wide, updating contracts with businesses that the City of Oceanside works with to refrain from sharing sensitive information, among other things.
Consequently, the Community Trust Resolution was placed on the agenda for the city council meeting on September 17th, 2025, with support from Deputy Mayor Eric Joyce and council member Jimmy Figueroa. This resolution was aimed to stand alongside Oceanside’s immigrant families by passing some type of protection through city council. The original plan also intended to have city council “direct city to allocate funding for fiscal year 2025-2026 to a selected (CBO) to administer Crisis relief case management and basic needs stabilization” and “Direct City to designate neighborhood resource centers as support centers for Day Laborers and Street Vendors to provide support with the lawful submission of vending permit applications,” in addition to the previous demands.
Results
Despite the overwhelming support from the community that created an over 5-hour long city council meeting, Oceanside’s mayor, Esther Sanchez, criticized the resolution, claiming that what we really need is “a path towards citizenship.” Additionally, she explained that “the city of Oceanside has done almost…everything on this list.” Alongside council members Rick Robinson and Peter Weiss, they agreed these protections were federal business. In the end, the Community Trust Resolution was passed, but with major changes. However, many community members felt as though what city council agreed to pass was not enough. The Human Rights Council of Oceanside expressed, “What passed on September 17 is not what our community asked for” and explained that if what was already being done was enough, “we would not have to fight for this resolution.”
After the Community Trust Resolution had “passed”, city council decided it would turn it into a report instead of a resolution. Stephanie Gomez, a third-year student at CSUSM and member of the Human Rights Council of Oceanside as well as Sowing Seeds of Dignity Oceanside, explained that when this item was first introduced, “the way our city council reacted…brought [community members] uncertainty.” She explained that city council’s “lack of wanting to help was really scary…because we were asking for the bare minimum, and if they can’t offer the bare minimum, then what can they offer?” She claimed that in her community, it created a lot of confusion and led community members to question if city council actually cared. Gomez claims, “I feel like we should trust our city council, like we should work together. But if we can’t do that, then what’s the point?”
Eventually, the Community Trust Resolution was revisited during a city council meeting on October 15th, 2025. During this almost 5-hour long meeting, the motion failed to pass as Mayor Esther Sanchez switched her vote to “no.” Following these results, community members present participated in a “unity clap,” which begins with slow clapping that gradually gets faster and ends with “isang bagsak,” meaning “one fall” in Tagalog. This is interpreted to mean “When one person in our community falls, we all fall.” After this happened, City Attorney T. Steven Burke, Jr. explained that “you don’t need to vote to accept the report,” and that “you don’t need council action to send individual letters,” to which Mayor Sanchez said “Alright then. We’re not voting.”
What nearly passed in Oceanside may not have been what the community envisioned, the strength of the community and the ability to uplift each other during these times of turmoil shows the residents of Oceanside can persevere. Over 50 people spoke at the city council meeting regarding the topic, including multiple members of the CSUSM community. Organizations such as the Human Rights Council of Oceanside and Sowing Seeds of Dignity Oceanside have stayed true to their cause. These dedicated groups have advocated for better protection and treatment of undocumented individuals, andencouraged the community to do the same despite the lack of protection from city council. These organizations are constantly giving their followers online updates regarding immigration, planning protests and demonstrations, as well as educating O’siders by having regular meetings with community members around Oceanside.
Vista Community
After the Community Trust Resolution was not passed as a resolution, Juanito Xōchipilli Conoro emphasized that “We have to recognize that we are playing into the systems that have always been against us…A lot of times they tell us to do it the “right way”, and when we try to do those avenues, even the right way doesn’t work for us.” They then added, “I also want to recognize that at the same time, we don’t need them to validate who we are. We don’t need them for us to show up every day and protect our community.” Xōchipilli Conoro illustrated the power the community holds and expressed their hope of community continuing to organize because “the more we come together, the more we know we can have power.”
Just a few weeks after the Community Trust Resolution turned into a report, the Community Safety and Due Process Resolution was introduced to the city of Vista’s city council on November 18th, 2025. Similarly, this resolution is intended to create a safer community for residents regardless of their immigration status with the city sharing Know Your Rights information, and other points like the ones listed prior for the proposed Community Trust Resolution in Oceanside. The Community Safety and Due Process Resolution was passed with three votes yes and two votes no, and is currently still held as a resolution. Although not all the original demands were kept: some points were changed, because they were too complicated since the applications could vary from person to person.
Effects on Students
As a student here, Stephanie Gomez explained that ICE detentions “Not only also bring a little bit of terror to the campus… but it also affects our education…Overall, it could affect us emotionally, it’s hard to be in school and have to think about this. I can’t imagine how many college students are having to go to class and then having their parents at work, and not knowing what’s happening. So, it [ICE detentions] affects college students in so many ways.”
Juanito Xōchipilli Conoro described their thoughts as a CSUSM alumni, and how “What happens in my community back in Oceanside, I bring it here.” They added, “Being here in school and thinking about back home is like, I should be present at school. I should be focused on school, but I’m worried about my parents, I’m worried about my brother, I’m worried about my neighbors…If I can’t grasp the whole experience that college has to offer and take it back to my community so they can come back, then there’s an issue.”