Political Watch: July 17, 2025

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) released a statement about the July 10 ICE raid in Carpinteria. “Today, I was at Casitas Pass Road in Carpinteria where ICE was conducting a raid using disproportionate displays of force against local farmworkers and our agricultural community,” Carbajal said in his statement. “As a member of Congress and representative of the Central Coast, I have the right to conduct oversight and see first-hand what ICE was doing here. As soon as I walked up, I was denied entry and was not allowed to pass. This was completely unacceptable. There’s been a troubling lack of transparency from ICE since the Trump administration started, and I won’t stop asking questions on behalf of my constituents.” Carbajal added that he “will be demanding answers” from the Department of Homeland Security to find out who was detained and where the detainees were taken. “Let me be clear: these militarized ICE raids are not how you keep our communities safe,” Carbajal stated. “This kind of chaos only traumatizes families and tears communities apart. They are also a gross misuse of limited resources and a betrayal of the values that define us as Americans.” Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) also addressed the Carpinteria raid in a July 10 statement. “I am outraged over the immigration raid targeting agricultural workers in Carpinteria earlier today. Designed to intimidate and instill fear, operations like this harm families and weaken public safety,” Hart stated. “As our community stands united to support impacted families, we call for an end to the president’s campaign against immigrants, which betrays the core values of our nation.” State Sen. Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) also issued a July 10 statement regarding ICE activity in Carpinteria and Camarillo. “Today, we are witnessing masked National Guard troops with rifles and armed military vehicles aiding immigration officials in raids and checkpoints in Carpinteria and Camarillo,” Limón stated. “These actions are terrorizing to our communities—documented or not.”

•U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla (D-California) and Adam Schiff (D-California) announced on July 9 that 18 California airports were awarded a combined $81.3 million in grant funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to bolster aviation infrastructure. The funding comes through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which invests in airport infrastructure projects such as runways, taxiways, noise cancellation, airport signage, airport lighting, and airport markings, according to Padilla’s office. San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport is among the 18 airports that were awarded funds through the AIP. The $8.71 million awarded to the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport is associated with an Airport Infrastructure Grant that funds an eligible portion of an ongoing rehabilitation project, according to Padilla’s office. This project will rehabilitate 6,101 feet of existing paved Taxiway A to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement and to minimize foreign object debris to extend its useful life. Santa Barbara Municipal Airport also benefited from the AIP funds with a $226,650 grant to support a new pavement management plan and initial pavement study. “Californians and the millions of people who visit our state each year deserve a safe and easy airport travel experience. That starts with modernizing and rehabilitating outdated airport infrastructure,” Padilla said in a statement. “These critical investments will not just make travel smoother for passengers but will reduce noise pollution in neighboring communities.” Schiff described the infrastructure investments as aiming to “enhance the travel experience for millions of visitors and travelers, improve safety, create more jobs, and boost our local economies.”

This article appears in Jul 17-27, 2025.