As part of her “group home mom” role at a residential care facility in Santa Maria, Jaime Staine has experienced dealing with occupants of varying temperaments.
While having looked after Erik Zepeda—who’s been in the group home since age 14 and is diagnosed with severe developmental delay and mild intellectual disability—for the past seven years, Staine said she’s never seen him show signs of aggression.
Two months before Zepeda’s 21st birthday, he was hospitalized on Oct. 21 for a broken wrist and bruised face an hour after encountering federal officers, who Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) claims “believed” Zepeda, an American citizen, matched a description of a “criminal illegal alien target.”
When Staine first learned about Zepeda’s injuries that morning, she assumed that he’d been mugged while walking to Santa Maria High School, where he’s enrolled in an adult education program.
“There is nothing that could have caused [ICE] to be aggressive to him, because he’s not in that capacity to disrespect them,” Staine said. “Erik’s not aggressive. He’s not. … He’s so shy. … He’s verbal but doesn’t speak clearly.”
Recalling the incident, Zepeda specified that two masked individuals, with vest labels that read “ICE” and “POLICE,” tackled him to the ground before handcuffing him and placing him in a black vehicle, parked outside JDX Pharmacy on South Broadway—along Zepeda’s walking route to school.
“They asked me three questions,” Zepeda told the Sun. “‘What’s your name? Are you a citizen? And what’s your birthday?’”
After questioning and photographing him, the officers let him go, Zepeda said. He continued his walk to school, “just in shock,” he recalled. Upon arriving, he remembers his peers and teachers approaching him immediately out of concern.
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Public Information Officer Kenny Klein confirmed in a statement that an administrator called an ambulance to take Zepeda to the hospital.
He then underwent surgery to deal with his broken wrist.
“Honestly, I started crying at the hospital. I was fine up until the point where they came and said that he had broken his wrist in three different places,” Staine said. “I just imagined how scared he must have felt, because it takes a lot for him to even ask for help.”
The Sun reached out to ICE with questions about the incident, and a spokesperson asserted via email that Zepeda “resisted officers, refused lawful commands, and assumed a fighting stance with clenched fists.”
“They relied on their training to safely control the situation until they could confirm his identity, whereupon he was released,” the ICE representative said. “Claims that the individual suffered broken bones are FALSE. He never requested medical assistance.”
ICE did not respond to follow-up questions about what measures officers took to ensure that Zepeda, given his disabilities, understood their “lawful commands” before allegedly tackling him.
The Sun also asked ICE to elaborate on how officers determined that Zepeda “matched” the description of a wanted “criminal illegal alien target” and for a photo of said target. ICE did not respond.
In an Oct. 23 statement, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) condemned ICE’s treatment of Zepeda as a violent example of racial profiling.
“This is outrageous, and we should not tolerate these tactics,” Carbajal stated.
Staine said she’s worried that her group home son walked away from his ICE encounter with much more than a broken wrist that morning.
“He looks so lost. He doesn’t look like himself. … It’s really taking a mental toll on him. It’s heartbreaking for all of us to see him like that,” Staine said. “His main family and friends are the staff that works with him and other residents in the home. … He doesn’t have anyone else other than … a few friends that FaceTime sometimes with him.”
While his wrist remains on the mend, Zepeda also lost the ability to bathe and dress himself without staff assistance—tasks he felt proud about carrying out independently, along with walking to school on his own.
“He worked really, really hard to get to this point in his life where he’s doing all these things,” Staine said. “This just diminishes everything that he’s worked for.”
This article appears in October 29 – November 5, 2026.
