As immigration raids continue across California, the Mexican Consulate in Oxnard is supporting Mexican nationals who have been detained.
In the past month, roughly 40 people were detained in raids along the Central Coast—about 20 of them Mexican nationals, according to Ricardo Santana Velázquez, the head consul in Oxnard. The consulate, which helps issue passports and visas and assists Mexican nationals in emergencies, has been monitoring the situation closely.
“They conducted raids on five or six farms in Ventura County, and of course, many Mexicans were working in the fields with different immigration statuses,” Velázquez said about immigration enforcement actions that took place on June 10.
He emphasized that while the United States has the right to enforce its immigration laws, authorities must respect the human rights of those detained.
“We always ask authorities to do this with the due respect that is needed for human rights,” Velázquez said. “These are humans, and if they have an immigration or administrative violation, a judge must decide what happens to them.”
The consulate’s role, he explained, is to ensure due process is followed. The first question that consulate staff ask a detained person is whether the process has started—a step that guarantees their right to a fair hearing.
“They have the right to call the consulate,” Velázquez said. “They have a phone available, they call us, and we go there for the interview.”
He added that every person detained in the recent Ventura County raids received due process and none reported mistreatment. Most were transferred to processing centers in Santa Maria, Oxnard or Los Angeles, and in some cases directly to the border.
Velázquez urged undocumented residents to remain calm if detained, to refrain from arguing with agents, and to avoid signing any documents if they don’t understand them. In those instances, the consulate can help secure an attorney.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, about 11 million undocumented immigrants were living in the United States in 2022. Roughly 44% are from Mexico.
