Teen Detained by ICE in Oxnard Returned Home Same Day, Volunteers Say

OXNARD, Calif. - A teenager was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents Tuesday morning while walking in the Lemonwood neighborhood of Oxnard, according to community volunteers who witnessed the incident.

The detention happened around 6:30 a.m. The teen was released and returned home later that same day.

Volunteers with VC Defensa, a community organization that patrols neighborhoods across Ventura County in the early morning hours, say they received reports of ICE vehicles in the area and responded to the scene.

When volunteers arrived, ICE agents were already speaking with an individual who was ultimately able to walk away without further communication with agents. Shortly afterward, volunteers say agents turned their attention toward them, yelling and pepper-spraying their vehicles before leaving the area.

A short time later, on San Mateo Place, volunteers say ICE agents tackled another individual to the ground. They later learned the person was a teenager between 16 and 18 years old.

"The narrative that they are saying is the people that they are taking are criminals. We know that this is a lie.. this has always been a lie. there should be no place in our society For something as horrible as criminalization of immigrants," said Elaine Yompian, an organizer with VC Defensa. "There is no way to explain what we were witnessing.. Again, three age grown agents with weapons and everything and with full force taking a child down onto the ground as he was struggling.. It was a horrible thing to see.. We started yelling and alerting the community."

Volunteers report they were pepper-sprayed again as agents drove away with the teen.

Organizers with VC Defensa confirmed the teen is a U.S. citizen and was released and returned home the same day.

“El pueblo salva al pueblo — only the people save the people,” said Yompian. “And we understand that with movement and people power, we can make a difference for long-term, sustainable change that actually provides real dignity.”

Following the incident, VC Defensa conducted community outreach to warn residents about ICE activity in the area. During that outreach, organizers connected with the teen’s family.

You News Channel has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for a comment on the incident but have not yet received a response.