Federal deportation efforts could be ramping up in Orange County as immigrant advocates, volunteers and city officials in Anaheim and Santa Ana have noticed an uptick in ICE raids.
“We had a little bit of a reprieve from ICE’s illegal activities over the last few weeks, but they have been back in force in Orange County again violating people’s constitutional rights – regardless of citizenship status under the law,” said USC professor and local immigrant advocacy volunteer Jody Vallejo.
In a Thursday phone interview, she said her volunteer colleagues at the OC Rapid Response Network – an immigrant advocacy group that tracks federal deportation efforts – are seeing people’s constitutional rights being violated by federal agents.
“They are acting in ways that are inhumane, they are violating due process rights that people have and because they are so rogue and relying on stereotypes,” Vallejo said. “They are casting these nets that ensnare legal residents and United States citizens.”
The ramp up comes after President Donald Trump’s administration began focusing deportation efforts elsewhere in the country – like Chicago and New York City.
Citizens Caught up in Car Wash Raid
Anaheim City Hall. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
Officials in Anaheim have also noticed an uptick, noting a recent raid at the Euclid Car Wash – a spot that federal agents have been to multiple times.
“Last week, Anaheim saw what appeared to be broader, roving enforcement at a restaurant and car wash by Border Patrol and other agencies, part of stepped-up enforcement throughout Orange County. Since mid-August, Anaheim has mostly seen targeted enforcement operations focused on individuals, rather than broader operations at Home Depots, car washes and other public places,” reads an Oct. 22 update on Anaheim’s city website.
Sandra De Anda, program coordinator for the OC Rapid Response Network, said federal agents showed up to the Euclid Car Wash in West Anaheim on Oct. 16.
“One of our ICE watchers was there, she got there minutes before the enforcement began,” De Anda said, adding that the volunteer warned the car wash employees.
Bethany Anderson, who heads up Camino Immigration Services, said two citizens were caught up in the car wash raid – where she was serving as a legal observer.
“They let one of the guys go they tackled to the ground and the second guy that they tackled, they put him in a car then the other guys were trying to advocate for him, saying he’s a US citizen,” Anderson said in a Friday phone interview. “He was released about an hour later.”
Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said the city doesn’t know when deportation activities are going to happen.
“We rely on a collaboration between public safety, dedicated activists, neighborhood leaders and social media. While we have seen continuing enforcement, we have not seen a rise as compared to neighboring cities and counties. Our focus remains on helping our neighbors, with dedicated information and resources available to our residents in their time of need,” Aitken said in a Thursday text message.
Anaheim City staff provide regular updates on the website, noting a recent uptick in ICE sweeps – especially in nearby Santa Ana, where officials don’t provide daily public updates.
“We are tracking stepped-up enforcement in Santa Ana and throughout the region over the past few days. Anaheim has not seen major enforcement activity since Oct. 16,” reads the Anaheim Thursday update.
The cart and belongings left by the man arrested by federal immigration officials in Artesia Pilar, a Latino neighborhood in Santa Ana, Calif., on June 14, 2025. Credit: SPENCER CUSTODIO, Voice of OC
Over the summer, Anaheim City Council members voted to join a federal lawsuit – stemming out of Los Angeles – against the federal government in a case alleging that roving patrols and unwarranted stops amount to racial profiling and violate people’s constitutional rights.
[Read: Orange County’s Largest Cities Take a Stand Against ICE Sweeps]
“We condemn how some federal immigration enforcement has played out in our city and do not support any excessive enforcement activity that destabilizes families, neighborhoods and our economy. As of Oct. 2, Anaheim has been admitted to and has officially joined a federal lawsuit, known as Pedro Vasquez Perdomo, et al., v. Kristi Noem, et al., challenging some enforcement tactics,” reads Anaheim’s website.
Last week, Fullerton City Councilwoman Shana Charles also publicly raised concerns on how immigration enforcement is being done after a resident read the 5th Amendment’s due process protections during public comment at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
“I really appreciate that somebody took out the (U.S.) Constitution and read the 5th Amendment,” Charles said, adding that the founding fathers didn’t use the word “citizen” in due process rights.
“Just above that was Amendment number four which is also prohibiting illegal search or seizure and it explicitly says ‘no persons,” she said. “No person should be denied any of those protections and everyone should get due process no matter what.”
The Department of Homeland Security didn’t answer specific questions about roving enforcement efforts, but provided an overview of how many people have been arrested since June.
“Since June 6, 2025, ICE and CBP arrested more than 7,100 illegal aliens in the Los Angeles area,” reads an Oct. 22 email from an unnamed spokesperson. “Illegal aliens have a choice: they can either leave now voluntarily and receive a $1,000 or they can arrested, detained, and removed without the ability to return the right legal way.”
Are Policy Shifts Creating Undocumented Immigrants?
A girl clings to her mother’s side following the arrest of her father by federal agents the Santa Ana Immigration Court on May 28, 2025. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC
Anderson – who heads up Camino Immigration Services – said shifts in federal immigration policies are making people undocumented.
“There is an intentional dismantling of the immigration legal system,” Anderson said. “They’re creating undocumented immigrants, they’re creating people without status.”
Anderson also noted federal officials are revoking people’s temporary protected status and putting them in deportation proceedings.
“It’s not criminals, it’s the most vulnerable of the immigrant population that are being made undocumented. Immigration has their information because they’re applying, they’re trying to do it the right way and they’re being targeted,” she said.
De Anda and Vallejo also echoed what Anderson said, adding it’s not just the Latino community that’s being impacted.
“We’re getting calls from every single community out here in Orange County,” De Anda said.
“Last night we had two Vietnamese families join our community space – both of their loved ones got taken at their ICE check-in and actually my friend’s dad just got taken at his ICE check-in, he’s Vietnamese too,” De Anda said in a Oct. 23 phone interview.
Vallejo said the deportation efforts are impacting all immigrants.
“This is an issue that touches a broad swath of our community. ICE is publicly targeting Latinos, but there’s constant actions against Middle Eastern immigrants in Orange County, Asian immigrants in Orange county, Black immigrants – they’re not as public as the attacks on Latinos,” she said.
Vallejo said the situation is going to have a lasting impact on various communities.
“We are a county with a diverse set of immigrants and these kinds of effects ripple within communities and across generations.”
Editor’s note: Ashleigh Aitken’s father, Wylie Aitken, chairs Voice of OC’s board of directors.
Spencer Custodio is the civic editor. You can reach him at scustodio@voiceofoc.org. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerCustodio.
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