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The California Report

As Pistachio Harvest Season Ramps Up, Concerns Grow About Workforce

Keith Mizuguchi
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Inyokern, CA - July 28: Mojave Pistachios farms on approximately1,600 acres in Inyokern. Pistachio farmers in the area are fighting Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority that has imposed a $2,130 per acre foot Replenishment Fee for the the usage of groundwater. Photographed on Wednesday, July 28, 2021 in Inyokern, CA.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, July 18, 2025…

  • Across the Central Valley, the agriculture industry is ramping up for harvest season. But for some farmworkers, this year’s job search is different. It comes with a shadow– the threat of immigration enforcement.
  • Border Patrol agents descended on a Home Depot in South Sacramento Thursday morning, the latest immigration enforcement action in California.

Job Fair Illustrates Dilemma For Farm Industry, Potential Workers

A recent job fair was held in the rural town of Firebaugh, 45 minutes west of Fresno, in preparation for the pistachio harvest. It highlighted some of the challenges currently rippling through the agriculture industry.

When Maria Vasquez got in line for the fair, she wasn’t thinking about ICE. She was thinking about rent. “I have to survive. I need a job,” she said. She’d been laid off from her job as a machine operator at a citrus packing house. She’s lived in the Central Valley for 24 years and worked in nearly every part of the agricultural industry. Despite concerns of immigration raids, she said staying home isn’t an option.

Maria Zarco is General Manager at Full Steam Staffing. They’re hoping to place people in packing houses and warehouses as forklift and machine operators. But Zarco said they’re not just matching workers with jobs. They’re also looking out for the immigrant community. “There’s been a lot of raids going around. But we want to make sure that our community knows their rights,” Zarco said. “I think that’s the most important thing is not spreading the fear, but educating our community.”

Day Laborers, Community Shaken After Border Patrol Raid At South Sacramento Home Depot

Border Patrol agents detained at least 11 individuals Thursday morning during an immigration enforcement raid outside a Home Depot on Florin Road in South Sacramento. This marks one of the most visible immigration enforcement operations in the region this year.

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Following the arrests, the incident gained attention quickly on social media, as local community members and immigrant rights advocates shared it. Some community members, protestors, and immigrant rights advocates gathered at the site within hours of the event.

Advocates claim that the person detained for disrupting  the arrests was a U.S. citizen, Jose Castillo Jr., who was later identified by immigrant advocacy group NorCal Resist as a volunteer observer who was filming the arrests. Online video shows he was maced and taken into custody after reportedly trying to record the scene.

Border Patrol has been under a court order to stop warrantless raids in the state’s Eastern District – which includes Sacramento – after agents raided a Home Depot and other worksites in January.

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