Tue. Sep 9th, 2025
Santa Ana anti ICE riot, picture by Jeff Gritchen

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruled yesterday that U.S. immigration officers may continue to make stops based solely on a person’s location, the type of work they do, the language they speak, or their apparent race or ethnicity.

With this ruling in their pocket, ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has resumed immigration enforcement activity in Santa Ana, CA.

According to the City of Santa Ana, they are aware of current ICE operations in the area and have reaffirmed their commitment to protecting residents’ rights under California’s Values Act.

However, the City of Santa Ana is hosting their annual Fiestas Patrias event this weekend in downtown Santa Ana. This event celebrates the independence of Mexico and other Latin American countries. The event is festive, with lots of music and food.

But the reality is that this is an event targeted primarily to immigrants and unfortunately many of the immigrants in and around Santa Ana are undocumented.

The fact that Santa Ana is a sanctuary city has actually put a bullseye on our city – President Donald Trump has specifically ordered ICE to target all sanctuary cities.

The City of Santa Ana has retaliated against Trump by joining a lawsuit against Trump and ICE. Good luck with that. He owns the Supreme Court majority, and they are unlikely to rule against him on any immigration issues.

The Santa Ana Police Department does not participate in immigration enforcement. But if riots break out you can bet they will show up in force. This has already happened earlier this year and you really cannot blame them as the rioters often end up vandalizing and damaging local businesses.

While the city itself is not cooperating with ICE, enforcement actions are still occurring independently. If you or someone you know is affected or concerned, the Orange County Rapid Response Network hotline at 714-881-1558 is available for reporting ICE activity and accessing legal resources.

This may all backfire on Trump eventually the way the Republican Party lost California after Prop. 187. Then Governor Pete Wilson thought he won but then he had to watch as millions of California residents turned on the GOP turning our state blue seemingly forever. Trump may be winning now but, in a few years, there will be millions of children of immigrants voting blue to defeat his V.P. JD Vance.

By Art Pedroza

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

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