What's at stake?
With community protests in the works, Fresno’s Republican mayor added his voice to the escalating fears triggered by the latest federal government immigration operation witnessed throughout the Central Valley.
While the federal government remains mostly silent on the widely-witnessed and apparently ongoing anti-immigrant crackdown in Fresno and other parts of California, local watch groups and advocates estimate that around 70 people have been detained in Fresno and Madera this week.
Huy Tran, executive director of SIREN told Fresnoland that the preliminary estimate comes from local legal responders with the Valley Watch Network.
A wave of videos of ICE arrests posted on social media this week taken across Southern California and the Central Valley have led Californians to speak out against an apparent federal immigration enforcement campaign escalating this week across the Golden State.
The Rapid Response Network of Kern has confirmed that armed officers, many in gear identifying themselves as ICE agents, have been stopping and detaining community members on their way to work, at construction sites, mechanic shops, shopping centers, and various other public areas in Fresno, Madera, and South Central Coast Counties.
The network reported 61 individuals who were detained on Tuesday alone.
The right-leaning Washington Examiner, citing a confidential source, first reported on Wednesday that ICE was increasing its presence in the state through “Operation Safe California.” The escalation is expected to last 45 days, the newspaper reported, leading into the midterm elections.
In an email to Fresnoland this week, the Department of Homeland Security would neither confirm nor deny the California operation, but released the names of five people they claimed to have detained in state — four were detained in Southern California and another in Stockton.
Fresno City Councilmembers and Mayor Jerry Dyer voiced their opposition to the escalating operations across the state, with some going as far as to say they should stay indoors and away from the public eye.
“This is basic voter suppression and intimidation of the Latino voter base,” said Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias. “This is trying to convince those of us in our community to stay home and to not participate and engage in civic responsibility and constitutional right.”
SIREN and several immigration rights organizations held a news conference outside of Fresno City Hall on Thursday morning, calling on city officials to take action to protect immigration families.
“The reality is that it is the community-based organizations that have done the work, we see the fear in the families that we serve,” Tran said. “We see it in the community that we work with and try to uplift. And because it is these organizations that are on the front line, we needed to show strength. We needed to show that we weren’t going to back down.”
Community members on social media fear immigration operations are ramping up because of the upcoming midterm elections.
“The timing of the uptick certainly coincides with the upcoming elections,” said Pam Nelson Hollis, director of development & communications with Faith in the Valley. “It’s increasing fear and could potentially deter voter turnout among immigrant and Latino communities.”
Faith in the Valley held five community meetings on Oct. 7 across the Central Valley, including in Fresno, focused on building “voter confidence in their communities and helping strengthen trust in the upcoming general election.”
Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco issued a statement that four Kerman residents were detained Oct. 7, and four additional individuals were detained Thursday morning.
“In less than 48 hours, eight people have been taken from our Kerman community by federal immigration agents,” the statement reads. “These are not just numbers. These are people with families, jobs and lives here in Kerman. As Mayor, I refuse to accept that residents should be afraid to carry out the most ordinary parts of their day.”
Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez shared in a statement that he stands with immigrant families and encouraged residents “to remain calm, rely on verified information and support one another.”
“Our immigrant families are an essential part of Fresno County,” Chavez said in the statement. “They are our neighbors, our coworkers and our families. They contribute every day to the strength of this community, and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”
Arias added that he believed members of the local immigrant community should stay away from the annual Big Fresno Fair, which opened this week.
Fresnoland reached out to the Big Fresno Fair for comment on immigration enforcement presence and has not received a response.
“I won’t be lying, and I ask my immigrant community to also stay home,” Arias said. “The corn dog is not worth putting your family’s safety at risk, and no police agency, including ours, can ensure your safety because we cannot intervene in whatever the federal agency is doing, it is a tragedy.”
There is no proof that ICE will be at the fairgrounds at any point during its 11-day operating period. However, Arias has raised concerns around residents attending public events in light of local ICE presence before.
Last year, the southwest councilmember recommended residents stay away from the Cherry Auction both in January and June 2025 – a popular local flea market. Arias reversed the claim in January and agents did not show up in June. The comments came at a time of similar escalating ICE operations in the Central Valley.
Dyer said “you’d have to be a person without a heart to not be touched…to see what happens when families are separate,” following the screening of a TikTok video on the council chambers screens.
He later added, “it’s very unfortunate what’s going on in America in that respect, especially with some of the tactics that are being used that are somewhat archaic.”
Immigration watch dogs in the region have also begun to sound the alarm about ICE’s growing presence in the state.
“There’s no denying that there’s a surge at the moment and if it’s going to be ongoing, we are going to see the repercussions play out in how people feel safe to go to school [and] go to work,” Tran said. “For people who have mixed-status families, there’s going to be concerns about voting. Now we’re going to have to deal with people who are already terrified and they don’t want to come out at all.”
Peace Fresno will be hosting anti-ICE demonstrations every Saturday, from 9:30-11 a.m. at Shaw and Fresno St. This year’s No Kings in Fresno will happen on Oct 17. It will be the fourth national ‘No Kings’ protest.