Just over a year ago, Alex Lazro opened Cafe La Fonda across from the Santa Barbara Courthouse.
"With a little bit of love and God, this is what you get right here. A lot of people get married here and they usually come over here and have their lunch or breakfast here. It's kind of beautiful," Lazro said.
When he was a child, he immigrated to the U.S. with his family.
"Coming straight from Guerrero, Mexico, and I've been here since I was four years old, so all I know is Santa Barbara," Lazro said.
After recent immigration-related executive orders from President Donald Trump, Lazro says staffing has been a challenge.
"There's a lot of people that don't want to come to work, you know, because they're scared to come to work. And, yeah, it's pretty hard," he said.
Immigration lawyer Abe Kingston says he’s been busy ever since President Trump took office.
"People are scared and confused — do I have to go to court? what happens if I’m detained? what happens to my kids if I’m detained?" Kingston explained.
He says ICE is only detaining people with criminal records but has advice for anyone who may be stopped.
"They don't have to reveal themselves. They don't have to give tremendous information about their background. But these are armed officers and when you're confronted with that, it's not as easy as it sounds," Kingston said.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, an estimated 44,000 undocumented people live in Santa Barbara County.
"These people are in the fabric of our community, and they just simply cannot remove a segment of the community and it be the same," Kingston said.
In the past nearly two weeks, unconfirmed rumors of ICE in local neighborhoods have caused residents to stay home, even from the grocery store.
"And unfortunately, what that means is that we've now had to set up almost like an underground railroad," said Jacklyn Inda, Director at Casa de la Raza.
Inda says Casa de la Raza is now distributing donated food, clothing, and basic needs items to families that are laying low.
KSBY News has reached out to ICE multiple times this week, including again on Friday by phone and email, to confirm whether operations are happening locally but has not received a response.
