Student Shares Her Father Was Taken Into Custody on Allan Hancock College’s Campus Monday Morning
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The parent of an Allan Hancock College student was detained on the school's main campus by federal immigration agents Monday morning.
According to Allan Hancock College, around 9:45 a.m., officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrived at the school's Santa Maria campus and detained the student's parent in Parking Lot 2 before immediately leaving campus.
Santa Maria City Councilmember Gloria Soto hosted a press conference at the local college's campus regarding the incident Monday afternoon.
During the press conference, a student who identified herself as Mayrin shared her father was taken into custody after they arrived on campus Monday morning.
The father and daughter noticed a vehicle was following them near the Olive Garden on South Bradley Road as they headed towards campus shared Mayrin.
After arriving on campus at Parking Lot 2, a person school officials have shared was an ICE agent knocked on the vehicle's window, asked for identification and then had Mayrin's father exit the vehicle before taking the man into their vehicle and leaving the scene noted Mayrin.
She told Your News Channel she did not know why her father had been detained.
"[M]y dad was kidnapped by ICE today," said Mayrin during Monday's press conference at Allan Hancock College. "[W]hen ICE started showing up more frequently throughout the 805, I promised my dad that I would protect him. I couldn't."
"I'm sharing this because I don't want another family to experience what mine is experiencing right now," added the local college student. "I want people in the 805 to know what is happening. It is my family today. It can be yours tomorrow. Most importantly, I just want my dad to come home."
A vigil was set up after the press conference for her father.
The school shared in a press release Monday that it did not participate in the operation and did not have warning that it would happen on campus.
"Our campuses should be places where every student can learn, grow and pursue their goals without fear," stated Allan Hancock College Monday. "The Allan Hancock College Police Department does not detain, question or arrest individuals solely based on suspected undocumented immigration status. The college does not participate in federal immigration enforcement unless required by state or federal law, and student records remain confidential and are not released without appropriate legal authorization or as otherwise required by law."
More information about resources available to members of the Allan Hancock College community can be found here.
Your News Channel reached out to the Santa Maria Police Department and the local law enforcement agency also confirmed they did not receive an alert about the operation and had no further information.
A spokesperson on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stated in response to Your News Channel's inquiries about the incident that, "ICE has no record of activity on Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California, this morning."
To confirm details about the operation, Your News Channel reached out to the entire Department of Homeland Security for more information and the federal agency's response will be added to this article when it is received.
"I am deeply disturbed to learn that there has been recent ICE activity on the Santa Maria Allan Hancock Campus," shared California State Senate pro Tempore Monique Limón. "Our college campuses are meant to make our students feel safe, supported, and valued. Unfortunately, today a family has been torn apart, and a student has been ripped away from their parent. These raids instill fear in our students, cause chaos, and result in broken trust and effectiveness between the community and those charged to keep us safe."
