Ventura Baker Organizes Community Bake Sale to Support Immigrant Families Amid ICE Crackdown

A Ventura baker has organized a bake sale to help families of immigrants who have been affected by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the 805 region.

The event, which has been organized by Jess Baker of Awkward Pasty, will be held at Buddy’s Wine in Ventura on Sunday, April 26, between 12 and 3 p.m., according to an Instagram post. The bake sale will bring together all bakers from the 805 area and a few from Los Angeles.

All proceeds from the event will go to local Ventura County immigration coalition VC Defensa that helps immigrants and their families. VC Defensa will use the donations to help those affected by recent deportations, including providing legal and emergency assistance to affected families.

Donations could be made using money, debit card, and Venmo, according to the event  as noted on the poster of the event.

A wide range of bakers and pastry chefs will be participating in the bake sale. Among the participants in the bake sale are Awkward Pastry, The Baked Smith, Baked by Tallulah, Big Cheeks Bakery, Bliss Street Baked Goods, Butter & Fold, Butter Cake Shoppe, and Sugar Lab Bake Shop.

Other chefs that will be present include Tim Kilcoyne, Victoria DeGrandis, Jen Luce, and Shelby Blavis. Vendors include Urchin Sourdough Bagels, Sweet Lorraine’s Cookies, Reve Patisserie, and Masarap Lumpia.

The event has garnered support from local community, with several people endorsing it on social media. A comment by Sol Stitched under the Instagram post read, “I’ll donate a bunch of “f@ck ice” accessories I made!!!”.

Awkward Pastry last hosted the Immigrant Defense Bake Sale last July. It was its second Immigrant Defense Bake Sale.

Increased Crack Down on Immigrants by ICE in Ventura County

The fundraiser comes amid increased immigration enforcement activity in the region.

VC Star reported that there are about 827 arrests that have taken place in Ventura County as of February 2026.

Another investigation conducted by 805 UndocuFund revealed that over 800 arrests had been made over the course of 13 months, showing a significant rise from the number recorded in the previous year.

Among the arrested people, almost 600 were caught from Oxnard and Camarillo. The largest raid took place in July 2025 at a marijuana plantation in Camarillo, during which approximately 300 illegal immigrants were arrested, according to KEYT.

Other raids were made in agricultural lands on the Oxnard Plain as well as workplaces including car washes and restaurants in Thousand Oaks and Moorpark.

Some immigrants were arrested at work sites, whereas some other immigrants had already served time in local prisons and then sent to the immigration department for deportation proceedings.