Who will be the next mayor? It doesn’t matter for some residents fearful of the next ICE raid

The race for Santa Barbara’s next mayor is the last thing on Lorena Penaloza s mind. Penaloza, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, was born and raised in Santa Barbara. She is the mother of four, and runs a store on the Eastside called Poco De Todo. She votes in each election, but this year Penaloza couldn’t name a single candidate running for mayor. The big issue for Penaloza come election night isn’t about who will get to manage the city’s budget, or crackdown on electric bikes. It’s whether she’ll have to hear about another friend or family member being taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “If we don’t have ICE control, we’re going to lose a lot of our migrant workers,” Penaloza said. As Santa Barbara moves closer to naming its next mayor on Tuesday, ICE activity continues to surge and impact many Latino communities across the Central Coast. All of the candidates for mayor have said ICE does not belong in Santa Barbara. “I think anyone who steps into a