In their first protest of 2026, Indivisible Santa Maria walked from the corner of McCoy and Broadway to the front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office off Depot Street on Sunday, to show their opposition to federal ICE agents in the area.
Pam Gates, one of Indivisible’s leaders, stated that since the organization's inception in March 2025, more than 1,500 people have joined the group. She believes that’s because their message is resonating with them.
“These are our neighbors," Gates said. "They are not criminals. They are the people who support our economy. They are our friends, and they're terrified. We are here to stand with them.”
Sue Heitman is a retired farmer who said that without immigrant labor in the area, there wouldn’t be farms or a stable economy in Santa Maria.
“They're going to places and taking our valuable community workers out of our community, and this is destroying our breadbasket," Heitman said.
The protest came after city council member Gloria Soto held a press conference with local immigrant rights organizations on Friday to discuss recent ICE detentions. They estimated about 150 people on the Central Coast have been detained in the past week.
Christina Wood said she recently spoke with two teenagers who witnessed a man getting detained.
“It makes me nauseous," Wood said. "It makes me get up at 4:00 in the morning and come out here and observe and monitor and keep eyes so that they know that they're not doing the things that they're doing without people caring and people wanting to address this.”
Dozens of people attended the protest in the rain, carrying signs and chanting outside the ICE field office, which was closed Sunday.
“Every time I do this, I'm afraid," Gates said. "But you can't be afraid because this is not really focused on me. I need to stand up and speak out and help people understand what this is focused on.”
KSBY News reached out to ICE early Sunday morning for comment, but did not receive a response.
