The arrest of two immigrant advocates by Santa Ana police officers while observing ICE agents near city hall is sparking renewed scrutiny over how cooperative local law enforcement in OC’s only sanctuary city is with federal immigration agents.
It comes roughly a week after another advocate, Jackie Cordova, says she was beaten by federal agents while observing them and detained and as local immigration advocates warn of a 45-day surge in enforcement across Southern California.
According to Santa Ana police, officers arrested Santa Ana residents Madison Crabill, 25, and Adilene Tonoco, 33, on Wednesday for resisting a peace officer, stalking and criminal conspiracy after Santa Ana police received a call for help from off-duty federal agents
Immigrant advocates say the duo was observing the agents and didn’t interfere with them but were ultimately arrested by local police. Meanwhile, police officials say the activists blocked the agents’ vehicle and that the federal agents were worried for their safety.
Melissa Rios, a grassroots community organizer with LUCHA Costa Mesa, who is speaking to the press on behalf of Crabill and Tonoco, says she saw the tail end of the arrest as officers put the organizers in the squad car and towed Tonoco’s car.
“Both women were following an ICE vehicle from an appropriate distance. They remained behind the vehicle, and they weren’t blocking it, and they weren’t interfering with the car’s movement. Eventually, an ICE vehicle stopped near Santa Ana PD headquarters,” said Rios.
“And several police vehicles were already in position. One of the women pulled behind the ICE vehicle and the two Santa Ana PD vehicles pulled behind her as well.”
LUCHA Costa Mesa along with other organizations are holding a news conference in front of the Santa Ana Police Department at 3 p.m. today to demand the release of Crabill and Tonoco.
Rios and an eyewitness, who requested anonymity, are raising concerns about the interaction between Santa Ana police and the federal agents.
“What was particularly concerning, I think, is that the witness observed that the two ICE agents were communicating directly with Santa Ana PD officers, and then I believe the ICE agents received a case number from Santa Ana PD as well,” Rios said.
Rios says that another car was patrolling alongside Crabill and Tonoco, and the arrest seemed targeted towards the two women.
Santa Ana Police Spokeswoman Natalie Garcia said the pair did block the agents’ car and the agents had recognized them from previous federal operations in La Habra that same day and “expressed concerns for their safety.”
“The agents reported that the individuals began following them after they left a federal building in Santa Ana. The individuals later blocked the agents’ vehicle in an alley before continuing to follow them toward the SAPD station. While en route, they reportedly drove erratically and ran two red lights to maintain contact with the agents’ vehicle,” Garcia wrote in a Thursday email to Voice of OC.
“When the agents arrived in front of the station, the individuals parked directly behind them and used a megaphone to yell obscenities at them. SAPD officers responded and detained the two female suspects pending further investigation.”
In a statement after publication, an unnamed Department of Homeland Security spokesperson deferred questions to the police department.
“For operational security and the safety of our officers, ICE never discloses or discusses law enforcement operations,” reads the Thursday statement.
How Cooperative is Santa Ana Police With ICE?
The arrest of the two residents is raising concerns from at least two elected officials in Santa Ana on why police officers in OC’s only sanctuary city are helping ICE.
City Councilwoman Jessie Lopez, who is running for state assembly, said she demanded the city manager have the two residents released, adding she is “furious” that police helped ICE again.
“I am 100% against Santa Ana police continuing to support and help ICE in our community, and if they don’t want the public thinking that they do, then they need to stop doing what they’ve been doing,” Lopez said in a Thursday morning phone interview.
“There are other things that Santa Ana Police Department needs to be focused on in our community.”
It’s not the first time Santa Ana Police Officers have responded to a request for help from federal agents.
Earlier this year, Santa Ana police and city executives publicly said they accepted federal calls for assistance at the ICE protests in June 2025, for fear of federal officers bringing out their own reinforcements to deal with protesters.
At those protests, police officers fired hundreds of rounds of bean bags, rubber bullets and threw tear gas at ICE demonstrators over four days – costing the city nearly $400,000.
That policing response has faced ongoing criticism from some residents, a handful of council members including Lopez and one OC Supervisor – calling the officers’ actions excessive.
“I saw it with my own eyes when we were under attack by our own police department. When children in the crowd were being pepper sprayed and these chemicals were being thrown at us, I saw them form a line of defense to protect the federal agents,” Lopez said.
“So, again, why is Santa Ana police responding to calls of federal agents when they know that observing what they are doing is completely legally acceptable and it should not be criminalized?”
After publication of this article, Councilman Johnathan Hernandez said residents have a right to observe what ICE agents and police officers are doing in their community and called for the advocates to be released.
“It’s a legal right that every resident has in the city. It does worry me, and I am concerned that Santa Ana PD is pro-ICE,” Hernandez said in a phone interview.
As a sanctuary city, Hernandez said the arrest is troubling.
“When you see police officers who know we are a sanctuary city who are arresting legal observers, it sends the opposite message to our residents. It sends a message that Santa Ana PD has no regard for people’s protected constitutional rights, and it shows that Santa Ana PD has no regard for the status of a sanctuary city,” he said.
Police officials have repeatedly contended they follow the state law that bars them from assisting federal immigration enforcement and earlier this year officials banned local police officers from moonlighting for ICE and other federal immigration enforcement agencies.
A request to create a notification policy to inform residents about ICE activity in Santa Ana last year was shelved by a majority of city council members despite officials in Anaheim regularly updating residents on enforcement actions on their city website.
Officials in Santa Ana were the first to roll out a legal aid fund to help protect residents from deportation and after immigration enforcement ramped up last year launched an aid fund to help families impacted by ICE raids.
Councilman Ben Vazquez said he was upset the department arrested the women and that they have a right to observe what ICE is doing in the community. The rest of the city council did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
“It’s just painful to see our ICE watchers going through this, putting in their own time, doing hard work, taking responsibility for their neighbors and families to do this work, and then to be harassed by our own police department-that’s part of a sanctuary city. They were just observing. There was no intent to harm the officers,” Vazquez said in a Thursday phone interview.
“Two young girls with cameras and phones were not intentionally going to harm two armed men.”
Julie Leopo is Voice of OC’s director of photography. You can reach her at Jleopo@voiceofoc.org.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org.
