Practical Ways to Engage in Community Safety

The recent surge in immigration enforcement activities throughout Ventura County has cast a stark light on the urgent need for collective resistance and community led safety initiatives. Federal ICE raids, particularly the large-scale operations in Camarillo back in July and increased patrols across the 805 area, have not only instilled fear and disrupted countless families, but have also galvanized communities into action. For those seeking to contribute meaningfully to the defense of immigrant rights and the reimagining of public safety, there are many concrete avenues to engage locally.

The Current Context: Legal Challenges and Community Response

On August 2, hundreds gathered for a peaceful ICE Out of 805 protest—a powerful expression of our community’s growing resistance to state-sanctioned terror. Groups like VC Defensa continue to be on the front lines, coordinating rapid-response networks, connecting community members with legal support, sharing Know Your Rights resources, and organizing mutual aid. If you see ICE, call their hotline at (805) 253-3242.

On the legal front, a multi-layered battle is unfolding. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking ICE’s warrantless roving patrols across Ventura and six other Southern California counties, on the grounds that stops based on race, language, work, or location are unconstitutional. On August 1, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld that block: ICE must not carry out these racially targeted stops. But the administration continues to push back, appealing the decision and threatening to restore these terrorizing patrols. Meanwhile, Congress is fueling the very regime we resist. ICE’s budget has ballooned, an additional $75 billion over four years (on top of its base funding), now totaling nearly $28.7 billion per year. This money is being used to expand detention centers, hire thousands more officers, and scale the deportation machine to brutal extremes. The power of capital and xenophobic policy is being used to gut our solidarity and imprison our communities.

This is not just a political crisis. It’s a moral one. Legal wins, even monumental ones like halting roving patrols, are temporary. The bolstering of ICE’s budget ensures that the threat will return unless our resistance rises accordingly.

A Legacy of Grassroots Organizing for Community Safety

The work of reimagining safety in Ventura County builds on a rich history of grassroots activism across the United States. For decades, communities, particularly Black, Indigenous, and immigrant populations, have organized alternatives to policing that center healing, accountability, and collective care. From neighborhood watch programs and mutual aid networks to restorative justice circles and community mediation, these efforts affirm that safety is most effectively fostered through relationships and support rather than surveillance and punishment.

These movements have long challenged the notion that law enforcement is synonymous with safety, instead advocating for the divestment from prison systems and the reinvestment in social services, education, and economic opportunity. The Revolutionizing Community Safety Working Group within DSA Ventura County carries forward this tradition by actively imagining and building new paradigms of justice and protection that do not rely on police or ICE.

Revolutionizing Community Safety: A Working Group at the Forefront

In response to escalating enforcement and the limitations of current systems, the Revolutionizing Community Safety Working Group within DSA Ventura County provides a critical platform for envisioning and building alternatives to punitive policing and detention. This collective interrogates the structural roots of harm and centers abolitionist principles to cultivate transformative strategies. By advocating for policies that diminish reliance on law enforcement and promoting restorative justice, mutual aid, and community led conflict resolution, the working group aims to create a paradigm shift toward genuine safety and care.

Participation in this group offers members an opportunity to influence campaigns, shape educational programming, and engage in direct action that advances abolition and communal wellbeing. It is a space of intellectual rigor and strategic collaboration, essential for reconfiguring public safety in Ventura County.

Additional Pathways to Engagement

• Volunteering with VC Defensa to bolster rapid response and community outreach efforts: Next training is Saturday September 13th in Ojai. Follow VC Defensa’s Instagram @vcdefensa for more information.
  
• Attending monthly DSA Ventura County general meetings to stay apprised of developments and contribute to coordinated actions.
  
• Supporting immigrant justice organizations through financial contributions and advocacy.
  
• Participating in educational initiatives to raise awareness about immigrant rights and legal protections.
  
• Facilitating or joining mutual aid networks to provide tangible support to families confronting deportation threats.
  

Walking Toward a Vision of Hope and Collective Power

The challenges confronting immigrant communities are profound, yet the collective resilience and solidarity demonstrated across Ventura County affirms the power of communal action. Our strength is rooted in interdependence, sharing resources, knowledge, and care to dismantle systems of oppression and build nurturing alternatives.

Each act of resistance, from mobilizing to mutual aid, affirms a radical redefinition of safety, one premised on dignity, equity, and belonging rather than surveillance and exclusion. By engaging with these efforts, we participate in constructing a future where all community members can thrive, free from fear and repression.