Santa Maria students marched toward City Hall to protest immigration enforcement tactics

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School bells didn’t dictate about 300 students’ early departure from local campuses, recalled Cesar Vasquez, the 17-year-old organizer of a Feb. 18 walkout. The recent rally called for certain protective parameters between Santa Maria residents—documented or not—and officers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Students from middle schools and high schools in Santa Maria and Orcutt and Allan Hancock College began marching at different times that day, depending on their respective distance to City Hall, where all parties aimed to convene around 3:30 p.m.

“We got students from seven different schools. … Our Righetti students marched two hours and 40 minutes to get to Santa Maria City Hall,” said Vasquez, who spent more than two weeks prior to the walkout mapping out safe travel routes for each campus and enlisting parents and adult volunteers for assistance.

Volunteer chaperones walked alongside young marchers with carts full of water bottles, while others donated pizzas from Costco for students to eat while picketing. After the rally, about 30 protesters stayed for the Santa Maria City Council’s 5:30 p.m. meeting, and many spoke during public comment.

One of their asks was consistent: A 2-mile radius of protection around schools, churches, parks, and hospitals in Santa Maria where ICE officers aren’t allowed to make arrests, conduct investigations, or perform other department duties.

“That idea was adopted from a [proposed] bill called SB 48,” Vasquez explained. 

Introduced in December 2024 and awaiting its first committee review, state Senate Bill 48 was designed to prohibit school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools from granting officers of ICE and other federal immigration officials permission to access a school’s campus without a judicial warrant.

Mayor Alice Patino addressed protesters’ complaints in a statement, which she described as on behalf of the city.

“We know here that immigration enforcement is a sensitive issue, and we’ve heard concerns from residents, community groups, and nonprofits about federal immigration enforcement,” Patino said at the meeting. “Our message as the city of Santa Maria is clear: We want people to feel safe interacting with all city employees, especially police officers without fear. The city of Santa Maria deeply appreciates and values the trust and cooperation between all its departments and all its residents, regardless of immigration status.”

However, she added, the Santa Maria City Council lacks “the legal authority to prohibit the federal government from conducting federal law enforcement actions.” 

“The request for the City Council to establish a zone around local schools, churches, hospitals, or other sensitive areas to prohibit federal agents from performing authorized duties is outside of the city’s scope and outside of our powers,” she said.

Councilmember Gloria Soto proposed that the council vote on drafting a formal letter in support of SB 48. 

A few hours prior to the student walkout, Vasquez—a student at Central Coast New Tech High School in Nipomo who resides in Santa Maria—heard a rumor that some local schools were using morning announcements to discourage individuals from leaving campus early for the protest.

Vasquez said he sent out an email to multiple school officials as “a very friendly reminder” of middle school and high school students’ rights related to civic or political events, under the California Education Code.

“I know we are all worried about the safety and education of these students, I am too,” Vasquez wrote in the email. “That is why I have spent countless hours getting adult volunteers to walk out with students and march to City Hall with them. … [Students] are doing this because it is their right and they want to defend their future.”

This article appears in Feb 27 – Mar 9, 2025.