"This ain't it my brother": Johnathan Hernandez calls out Dwayne Shipp over ICE post

A campaign graphic built around celebrities named Ice turned into a public callout in the Santa Ana mayor's race in late August 2026.

Mayoral candidate Dwayne Shipp shared an image headlined "The only ICE I support," featuring Ice Cube, Ice-T, Ice Spice, "The Iceman" and Vanilla Ice. Under the photos, it read: "When it comes to our communities, I stand for dignity, due process, and keeping families together."

Santa Ana Councilman Johnathan Hernandez pushed back. "This ain't it my brother. These are peoples lives. It ain't a joke," he wrote in a comment from his verified @hernandez4santaana account, shown in screenshots Juice Unlocked posted on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026.

What Hernandez said

Hernandez went on: "If you are gonna denounce ICE, stand on it. We need a Mayor who is clear on what they are going to do about ICE violating Santa Ana residents rights."

His point, as the Juice Unlocked caption put it, was that people's lives are not a joke and voters deserve to know what Shipp would actually do as mayor about ICE and residents' rights.

Shipp's position

Shipp has publicly said he opposes families being torn apart and supports due process, dignity and keeping families together, according to the caption.

When a commenter asked, "Is he against ice?" the account @bhdagreat replied in a screenshot included in the post: "Yes, I am against people being terrorized and families being torn apart." The reply went on, "I believe in public safety, but I also believe in due process, dignity, and keeping families together. Those values can and should coexist." The caption describes that same stance as Shipp's.

Shipp, a community organizer, serves on the city's Community Development Commission and is president of the Orange County Heritage Council, according to LAist's voter guide. He told LAist, "I believe it's time to bring that same community-first approach inside City Hall."

Why ICE matters in this race

Santa Ana became a focus of immigration raids in the summer of 2025, LAist reported. During four days of ICE protests that June, police fired hundreds of rounds of bean bags and rubber bullets and threw tear gas at demonstrators, a response that cost the city nearly $400,000, Voice of OC reported. The city faces a lawsuit and four tort claims tied to residents' injuries.

Hernandez has said he was shot with bean bags and tear-gassed during the protests, according to Voice of OC. In June 2025, he denied Mayor Valerie Amezcua's claim that some officials condoned destruction during the protests, calling it "absolutely reckless and it's baseless," ABC7 reported.

The 2026 mayor's race pitted Amezcua against attorney Dan Shimell and Shipp. Shimell told LAist the ICE raids were a pivotal moment in his decision to run.

Update: Nov. 6, 2026

Shipp had about 13% of the votes counted when he conceded in an Instagram post on Wednesday, Nov. 4, the morning after the Nov. 3 election, Voice of OC reported. Some critics said he split the vote; Shipp responded that "nobody owns anybody's vote." As of Nov. 6, Amezcua led Shimell by 140 votes, with ballots still being counted, according to Voice of OC.