It's been a rough time for the Tri-Counties Indigenous community. First, there were immigration raids, and the fear they've left behind, and now state and federal funding cuts are threatening some key services.
More than 150 people involved with nonprofit and government groups gathered at a Camarillo conference center to look at how to best serve the region’s Indigenous residents.
"We've been holding the Indigenous Knowledge Conference annually for about six or seven years," said Erika Rivera, with the nonprofit Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project, or MICOP. "The idea is to bring in public service organizations like school districts, and other service organizations in the Tri-Counties (San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties), to come and learn more about what it means to be an indigenous migrant, and what (service) gaps we need to close."
But, she said, the conference has taken on a much different flavor this year. The impacts of immigration raids and the fear they’ve caused have made it even more difficult to get help to those who need it.
"Their families are being separated. The numbers show that over 1,800 families have been separated," said Rivera. "The need is high, and it's constantly changing. So, how can we all work together to support this community?"
Juvenal Solano is a community organizer with the nonprofit group MICOP.
"I think there's still fear," noted MICOP organizer Juvenal Solano. "But some people say we need to work, we need to pay the rent. They're coming to our office or calling to ask for help for legal representation."
He thinks the fear factor has dropped in the region for the immigrant community since the large-scale ICE raids last summer. But, Solano says it isn’t a feeling that they are safer. It’s the need to provide and take care of their families that’s pushed people to return to work, and to reach out for support.
"I think there's a change from 2025. (The year) was a disaster, with Glass House (immigration raids in at cannabis farms in Camarillo and Carpinteria). Right now, we're still hearing about raids, but it's not the same."
Groups that work with the indigenous community in the Tri-Counties say it’s been rough getting people to reach out for the help they need.
"At first, it was hard," explained Melissa Hannah, Executive Director of United Parents, a community-based organization that provides services for parents of children with mental health needs. "Families did not want to come out, and we had to resort to not even meeting families, because they were too scared to come out of their homes. We went back to snail mail. We had to build the trust again. We had it built, but then that trust was broken, with people questioning whom they could trust. Now, we've rebuilt that."
She said the raids and their aftermath have disrupted their efforts to help families.
The situation has been complicated by the fact that some state and federal programs, which are important to the Indigenous community, are being hit by budget cuts.
On top of everything else, there are changes in legislation affecting services that used to be easily accessible, and are now not.
"For instance, how do you renew Medi-Cal? There might be language barriers, issues with reading and writing, and being able to use an online platform," said MICOP's Rivera. "And then there's fear. What if I put in all of this information in this platform, and they're going to come pick me up from my family? It's cruel, and it's heartbreaking."
People at the conference stressed that families are being impacted by the ICE raids, as well as program and service cuts. Groups serving these communities must work together as closely as possible.
