Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua apologizes for slow response to ICE raids

Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua says she should have spoken up sooner about immigration enforcement in her city, and she is apologizing for it.

"I'm okay that people feel I didn't respond quick enough to ICE. They're right, and for that I am sorry," Amezcua said in a Juice Unlocked podcast interview posted Sept. 16. It is her answer to more than a year of criticism over how she handled the federal immigration raids in Santa Ana in June 2025.

What she said

In the clip, Amezcua says she had to deal with the criticism in her own way. She says she sat down with her husband, whom she calls her "biggest critic" and "biggest supporter," to talk through what she did wrong and how to fix it.

She then asks and answers her own questions. Should she have spoken sooner? Yes, she says. But she also says the city is in compliance with the law and is protecting the community "the best that we can."

Then she turns on her critics. Amezcua says no elected official in Santa Ana has removed ICE from the city, and she challenges anyone who claims otherwise to show what they did. According to the Juice Unlocked post, the full interview is her explanation of why she chose action over putting on a show for the cameras.

“I'm okay that people feel I didn't respond quick enough to ICE. They're right, and for that I am sorry.”

How we got here

Santa Ana is the only self-designated sanctuary city in Orange County, LAist reported in June 2025. That month, federal immigration raids led to protests outside the federal building, and Homeland Security agents and police used tear gas, flash bangs and pepper balls amid the unrest, according to ABC7.

Amezcua took heat for what she said at the time. In a Facebook post, she wrote that the protest had become "nothing but pure chaos and violence" and said other elected officials at the protest were condoning the destruction, LAist reported. In a later statement, she said most demonstrators had acted peacefully and that she does not support the raids.

She also told ABC7 she was "not about photo ops" and that the city had not had a contract with ICE since 2017. On June 17, 2025, hundreds of people attended a City Council meeting where she was met with boos as calls grew for her to resign, ABC7 reported.

“So should I have spoken sooner? Yes. Yes. But are we in compliance with the law? Yes. Are we protecting our community the best that we can? Yes.”

The ICE question on the ballot

The criticism followed Amezcua into her 2026 reelection race. Amezcua was elected in 2022 as Santa Ana's first female mayor. She faced attorney Dan Shimell and community organizer Dwayne Shipp, LAist reported. Shimell told LAist the ICE raids were a "pivotal moment" in his decision to run.

Asked about her record on Election Day, Amezcua told NBC Los Angeles, "I could have been that louder voice." She said people don't see the items she brought to the City Council's agenda behind the scenes.

“Not one elected official, not politician in this city removed ICE.”

What’s next

Amezcua was on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot. As of Nov. 4, NBC Los Angeles reported that ballots were still being counted in the mayor's race and that Shipp had conceded. Check the OC Registrar of Voters for updated results.

Watch the full interview

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