A social media post described agents in green vests conducting an arrest, identifying one black Chevrolet Tahoe without plates and a dark gray Toyota Camry with a California license plate.
Santa Monica police said federal immigration authorities independently arrested a man outside the city’s Public Safety Facility after local officers released him from custody on vehicle burglary charges, denying any coordination with immigration agents.
The incident occurred shortly before noon on July 23 at 4th Street and Olympic Boulevard in front of the Santa Monica Police Department and City Hall, according to a community alert from the West Los Angeles grassroots group Westla.RRN. The post described ICE agents in green vests conducting an arrest, identifying one black Chevrolet Tahoe without plates and a dark gray Toyota Camry with a California license plate.
In a statement, the Santa Monica Police Department said its officers had arrested the adult male earlier that morning on suspicion of vehicle burglary and possession of burglary tools. He was processed, cited and released from SMPD custody before federal authorities took him into custody on their own.
“SMPD officers did not participate in or assist with the federal arrest. There was no coordinated handoff between SMPD and federal authorities,” the department said.
The statement reiterated that Santa Monica police do not participate in civil immigration enforcement or arrest people based solely on immigration status, while also not obstructing lawful federal actions.
The July arrest marks the latest reported immigration enforcement action in Santa Monica. In March, West Los Respuesta Rapida — the same network — reported that a woman was detained by ICE officers outside a commercial building at 2260 S. Centinela Ave. around 9:15 a.m. as she walked to work. The group described as many as three masked agents and two unmarked vehicles, including a dark Ford SUV, near the location about 1.5 miles from the Bergamot Station Arts Center.
At the time, SMPD Officer in Charge David Wang said the department was not aware of the incident and would only assist ICE in limited situations involving life-or-death matters, such as crowd control that poses a safety risk.
In a Feb. 5 letter to the community, Chief Darrick Jacob stated that the agency, in line with city policy and California law, does not conduct immigration sweeps, raids or detentions based on immigration status, nor does it independently enforce federal immigration laws.
“Fear of immigration consequences should never prevent someone from calling for help or cooperating with the Santa Monica Police Department,” Jacob wrote. “While SMPD does not enforce federal immigration laws, we do enforce criminal laws fairly and consistently, without regard to immigration status.”
Santa Monica’s approach is largely shaped by California’s Senate Bill 54, the California Values Act, which generally restricts state and local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration agencies except in specific cases.
In October of the prior year, then-Mayor Lana Negrete expressed concern after reports of ICE agents arresting up to four people at a Santa Monica car wash. She said city officials worked to connect those affected with legal and social services.
“These are our community members — our neighbors, our friends, our family,” Negrete said at the time. “My heart is broken.”
