Ice’s Presence Brings Community Solidarity
COMMUNITY SOLIDARITY
On Dec. 29, 2025, multiple videos on social media surfaced from Instagram alert groups 805 La Voz & 805 Rapid Response Network (RRN), warning community members about Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agent’s presence in Paso Robles and neighboring cities. The accounts had 70,800 followers consistently watching and reporting ICE activity. 805 RRN was the first to publish a video at 11:40am reporting an ICE sighting along Spring Street on Exit N101 headed towards San Miguel.
ICE, a subsection of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS), has begun to further enforce its regulation and deportation of illegal immigrants in the US after President Donald Trump declared securing the Mexican-American border as one of his main presidential initiatives in 2024.
These efforts have taken place all over the country, with over 22,000 ICE agents deployed to enforce operations. In the past four months, ICE has added 12,000 new officers to their forces, representing a 120% manpower increase, according to the DHS. Since Trump’s inauguration in January of 2025, almost 3 million people have been deported, including self-deportations (DHS).
What once felt like a far-away issue to many residents of Paso Robles is now hitting close to home with multiple recent sightings and reported interactions with ICE agents in the SLO county area.
About 36.7% of Paso Robles’ residents are of Hispanic or Latino origin, and PRHS’s student body is about 57.5% Hispanic, according to US News. There are an estimated 7,000-8,000 undocumented immigrants in SLO county, according to a 2023 study from the CA Immigrant Data Portal. While the recent increase in ICE activity puts undocumented students and their families at a high risk of deportation, the community has rallied together to keep each other safe.
“I believe that the community has always been involved with taking care of each other. Now, with ICE coming to town, it has reinforced healthy communication because instead of seeing each other as neighbors we see each other as family,” said an anonymous Bearcat.
On Dec. 29, a community member posted on Instagram that her father was unexpectedly detained and shared a GoFundMe asking for community support by helping her family navigate his immigration case. As of Feb. 5, it has raised 4,000 dollars.
Various Bearcats reposted, liked, and shared this post onto their social media to help give support to the family, demonstrating the strong spirit of community that has grown since residents have been put in danger.
The following day, on Dec. 30, 2025, 805 RRN posted multiple alerts. Volunteers were following ICE in San Miguel, giving the community information on the vehicles they had noticed ICE driving: a silver GMC, a grey Nissan, and a Chevy Traverse.
This information caused many families to stay inside over the winter holidays out of fear. Many PRHS students were not allowed to leave their homes over the break due to the possibility of being detained and deported, even if they are legal citizens.
“When I saw the stories on Instagram about ICE being in town, my first thought that came to mind was my family. The thought of coming back home from school and not seeing my parents kept me up at night. What would happen to my brother and I? Where would we go?” an anonymous Bearcat said.
The recent shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in early 2026 have caused backlash from both sides of the political spectrum, highlighting an emerging pattern in the Trump administration. Both victims were accused of assault and refused to cooperate with ICE agents, leading to their unjust murders. Online debate has risen from both sides over the validity of the authority ICE holds, sparking protests across the nation advocating for justice. The administration has made unproven claims when describing these operations, despite video evidence circulating online that says otherwise (DHS).
“I think it’s ridiculous that they’re telling us to blatantly ignore what we’re seeing and just to listen to what they’re saying. It’s like gaslighting and manipulation, lies coming from our administration right now, and it’s kind of unreal when it’s far away, but when it comes right to your town, it’s so disheartening,” senior Mitra Miramon said.
On Jan. 30, students across SLO County, at SLOHS, Arroyo Grande HS, and Cal Poly walked out of class and off campus, in support of an Anti-ICE national shutdown (SLO TRIBUNE). PRHS did not have a drastic student participation, but hosted their own walkout on Feb. 6. to show solidarity.
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