Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors

The Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors are dedicating more money to support immigrants affected by the ICE raids and demanding more answers from the Department of Homeland Security.

Immigration advocates are calling on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors to join an ACLU lawsuit that aims to stop the Department of Homeland Security from targeting people because of their race and the language they speak.

Santa Barbara County is putting more than $200,000 toward mental health services for immigrants as federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers ramp up deportations in the Central Coast.

Santa Barbara County is seeking a prohousing designation from the state– a move that could unlock more funding for local housing and infrastructure projects.

Santa Barbara County projects an $11.9 million budget surplus by the end of the fiscal year.

The Board vote was split 2-2 on an appeal by environmental groups that challenged the transfer of permits to Sable Offshore, the company seeking to restart the pipeline.

Tensions are rising in Santa Barbara over President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. The Board of Supervisors and immigrant rights groups are voicing concerns that Sheriff Bill Brown is too accommodating to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will allow ranchers and farmers to grow new revenue streams. The Board has passed what it calls an “Agricultural Enterprise Ordinance,” which means that people who own agricultural property can put their land to use in new ways.

Progress continues on a large-scale operation to remove homeless encampments from along the Santa Maria River, but the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors said there is more work to be done.

The Environmental Defense Center filed the appeal after the Planning Commission voted to transfer permits for an oil operation on the Gaviota Coast to a new company, called Sable Offshore.