State law enforcement officers with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation served search and arrest warrants Tuesday morning at three locations in Merced, prompting rumors to circulate over social media about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity.
Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke confirmed to The FOCUS that the activity was state law enforcement personnel following up on issues occurring in state prisons – not federal immigration enforcement actions.
The pre-planned operation included 82 law enforcement personnel, 62 agents from CDCR and 20 from partnering agencies, David Maldonado, CDCR deputy chief of the Office of External Affairs told The FOCUS Tuesday evening.
Participating agencies included the Merced Area Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Team, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office and Merced County Probation, according to Maldonado.
Personnel served one arrest warrant, made one arrest, and served three search warrants at the three locations in Merced. These locations were not disclosed.
“Because this was an active law enforcement operation, CDCR is limited in the information that can be released at this time. Additional details will be provided if and when they become available,” Maldonado wrote.
Rumors circulated on social media platforms in a video and multiple posts with photos that showed groups of law enforcement personnel outside Merced residences. The photos and video were posted on Facebook around 10 a.m.
The posts showed a number of unmarked vehicles and law enforcement officers in tactical gear and claimed the photos and videos were from two or three locations in Merced, with captions reading “SHARE THESE OUT…RAID #2.”
Commenters speculated the activity looked like raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
People across the country have been on high alert over immigration raids following ICE operations in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Chicago and other major U.S. cities. Since an ICE agent fatally shot Minneapolis resident Renee Good last week, protesters in the Valley and nationwide have taken to the streets in Good’s honor and against ICE activity.
The raids are of particular concern for San Joaquin Valley cities, including Merced, which has a high immigrant population. About 25% of Merced County’s population was born outside the U.S., according to 2024 estimates by the American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau Data shows.
Faith in the Valley, a faith-based advocacy group, posted on social media Tuesday afternoon that its network of legal observers confirmed there was no ICE activity in Merced. The advocacy group operates the Valley Watch Network, an immigration enforcement reporting hotline.
The organization called the law enforcement activity a “gang and narcotics operation” conducted by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, with help from local law enforcement.
Merced Police Department Patrol Sgt. Jeff Horn told The FOCUS in a phone call Tuesday afternoon that it was a state operation and the department had zero involvement.
This story was updated to include details from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.