The city of Irvine released a statement today at 1:50 p.m. about a notice that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be in Irvine.
“It has been confirmed that these activities are focused on locating specific individuals under investigation for criminal activity who also have immigration law-related violations,” the statement reads. “ICE’s current operations in Irvine are not broad immigration raids, and do not appear directed at detaining individuals solely based on their immigration status.”
The statement also said that the Irvine Police Department would not be “involved in any federal immigration enforcement” and that the city is taking steps to inform the community.
New University spoke with council member Kathleen Treseder about the presence of ICE in Irvine.
According to Treseder, ICE had notified the Irvine City Manager Oliver Chi that they would be in the city. They only specified that they would be in eight to 10 locations in Irvine, including Orchard Hills.
“They didn’t tell us anything specific,” Treseder told New University. “The only thing they said was eight to 10 locations, including Orchard Hills. I don’t even know where in Orchard Hills they would be.”
The city manager’s office carries out the “implementation of decisions established by the Irvine City Council.” The office assists the council in various ways and keeps them informed of urgent community issues.
Several UCI graduation ceremonies are set to take place this week, including the Nuestra Graduación Celebration, a cultural graduation ceremony organized by student volunteers. According to its website, it is UCI’s “largest cultural graduation celebration,” with more than 4,000 guests. In Los Angeles, many families are no longer attending graduation ceremonies due to reports of ICE detaining parents and students at these ceremonies.
New University spoke with a UCI graduating student, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, about how their family decided not to attend graduation due to concerns about ICE’s presence in Orange County.
“I was worried about them being out, driving that far, and I had told them that maybe they might not be able to come and it’s fine, I can just go back home early,” the student told New University. “But as stuff started to progress, it got worse and I got more scared, so I told them that it’s probably not a good idea [to come].”
The student’s family members who planned to come were all undocumented immigrants. They were concerned about encountering an immigration checkpoint while driving down to UCI and ultimately decided not to come at all.
“I’m gonna stand with [the UCI community], and I’m happy to put myself at risk to help them, if necessary, and I’m just very, very sorry. I can only imagine how terrifying this must be for folks,” Treseder said when asked about the presence of ICE in Irvine and its impact on the UCI community.
This is a New University update. Read the original breaking news alert below.
Irvine city council member Kathleen Treseder posted on Instagram that Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE) were in Irvine today.
“We have been informed that immigration agents will be in 8 to 10 locations in Irvine today. Orchid Hills being one of them,” the post read. “If you are concerned about your status, please stay home.” Orchid Hills is roughly nine miles away from the UCI campus.
ICE began conducting raids in California on Friday, starting at three locations in Los Angeles. Since then, protests and demonstrations in Los Angeles — and now nationwide — have taken place in opposition to the raids. President Donald Trump has deployed more than 2,000 National Guardsmen to the city in response to the protests. National Guard troops are also in downtown Santa Ana, where demonstrations continue. According to CBS News, another 2,000 troops and 700 Marines are set to be deployed in Los Angeles as soon as today or tomorrow.
According to the Los Angeles Times, 330 immigrants from Los Angeles and surrounding Southern California cities have been detained by immigration officers.
On social media, several Orange County advocacy groups have reported ICE sightings in the area. OC Rapid Response Network, a coalition of nonprofit organizations responding to immigration enforcement activity, posted on Instagram today that ICE officers were “staying in the Irvine Marriott,” which is three miles away from UCI.
“Several raids are about to happen,” the Instagram post read. “Be mindful of supermarkets like 99 ranch and H mart, even tech warehouses and firms.”
This is a developing story.
Skylar Paxton is the 2024-2025 Editor in Chief. She can be reached at paxtons@uci.edu.