Mayor Michael Vargas released a statement urging his city’s residents to remain inside their homes due to ICE operations in the region. He emphasized safety, protection, and the dignity of every resident, regardless of legal status. Mayor Vargas said he was concerned for the safety of his city amid ICE operations.

This should be a giant red flag for everyone who sees it. When elected officials are warning people about the dangers of a federal agency, that agency is no longer acting in the interest of the people. That’s a rogue unit, ICE has become an entity with enough firepower to intimidate and enough autonomy to act without consequence. ICE isn’t behaving like a branch of government meant to serve the people.

Let’s be clear: officials were never notified of ICE’s operations. They weren’t consulted. They weren’t briefed. They weren’t even warned. If ICE is acting in cities without the knowledge or consent of city governments, then we have no choice but to call this anything but state sanctioned kidnappings.

Their targets right now are workers but make no mistake their enemies are mayors. It’s part of the tactics of repression. Use fear to keep people complacent. So When a city issues a warning to protect itself from its own government, there is no trust left. What remains is fear. The mayor is actively warning people to stay inside their homes, If ICE were a legitimate part of the democratic system, mayors wouldn’t be sounding alarms against them. Cities would not be in the dark about their presence. Local officials wouldn’t have to issue public safety warnings to shield their own communities from a federal agency.

The mayor’s warning confirms what many have already understood on the ground: ICE is not operating with accountability. Its presence is not being coordinated with city governments. Its actions are not being reviewed by local law enforcement. And in place of communication or consent, it is using secrecy, intimidation, and brute force.

There is a constitutional crisis unfolding in real time. ICE is asserting unchecked power in American cities while removing any pretense of oversight. City leaders are left scrambling. Residents are forced to choose between compliance and survival. The federal government offers nothing but silence as communities brace for the next operation.

Mayor Vargas saw what happened in Camarillo and Carpinteria. He saw the helicopters, the chemical agents, the arrests, the terror. Now, seeing it move toward his city, he did the only thing he could. He warned the people to hide.

We need to start asking ourselves “Do we still have a democracy, and if so for how long?”

The mayor of Perris gave us the warning. The people are watching. The rest is up to us.