Bay Area Officials, Immigration Advocates Brace for ICE Surge After Central Valley Arrests
Bay Area immigration advocates are bracing for a possible increase in ICE activity after more than 100 farmworkers and others were arrested in the Central Valley in recent days.
Since Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have arrested farmworkers heading to work in the morning and people out running errands in the San Joaquin Valley. Local officials said ICE does not appear to have warrants or be targeting individuals with criminal backgrounds or final deportation orders.
Although local rapid response agencies said Friday that they hadn’t yet seen increased ICE activity, there have been rumors and fears that the preelection surge could extend to Northern California.
“We are definitely on the alert and preparing in case of increased ICE activity or large-scale raids in our region,” said Lourdes Martinez, co-director of the Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership, the county’s rapid response network. “We have not been able to verify any specifics, so we are monitoring the situation.”
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that “for operational security and the safety of our officers, ICE will not disclose or discuss law enforcement operations.”
“Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country including in California,” a spokesperson wrote via email.
Martinez said lawyers are preparing in case of large-scale raids in the Bay Area, and outreach workers are sharing an “Emergency Planning Checklist for Families” to help immigrants prepare in case a family member is arrested.
Milli Atkinson, director of the Immigrant Legal Defense Program at the San Francisco Bar Association, said the city is similarly monitoring ICE activity in the Central Valley but hasn’t seen any uptick in arrests so far.
“Just anxiety from the community,” she said.
The United Farmworkers Foundation said Wednesday that it believes the raids “intensified” on Tuesday and continued later in the week.
“Some arrests occurred near commercial centers that include Walmart, Vallarta Market and Home Depot,” the statement said.
State Sen. Anna Caballero, who represents parts of Fresno and Merced, said she had heard of an estimated 60 arrests this week within the communities she represents.
“There are over 60 detainees, and the facility in downtown Fresno is having trouble processing,” Caballero’s spokesperson Elisa Rivera wrote to KQED. “Legal observers are having little success gaining access.”
“We also had a young person call our office after both of his parents were picked up,” Caballero said. “He did not know where to turn or what he was supposed to do.”
In Fresno County’s city of Kerman alone, Mayor Maria Pacheco said eight residents were detained between Wednesday and Thursday.
“These are people with families, jobs and lives here in Kerman,” she said. “As Mayor, I refuse to accept that residents should be afraid to carry out the most ordinary parts of their day.”
Pacheco said she has been aiding affected families to locate their detained relatives and get legal assistance. She added that Kerman police do not work with ICE on immigration enforcement operations.
“Our local police officers have a different responsibility. They serve our residents, protect our community and work to keep Kerman safe,” she said. “What we are witnessing from ICE does the opposite.”
“Four men were detained while getting pan dulce and coffee on their way to work,” Pacheco continued. “How does that make Kerman safer? …. Fear is not public safety.”
East Bay Rep. Lateefah Simon said in a statement that local elected leaders and community organizations will “stand by our communities and continue to be fully opposed to the Trump administration’s unwanted, unwarranted, and illegal immigration enforcement actions.”
She said she believes Trump is trying to “intimidate, terrorize and tear apart immigrant families” before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Earlier this year, Trump claimed without proof that the DHS had identified more than 250,000 non-U.S. citizens on voter rolls between four states, including California, reigniting fears about whether the administration will interfere with vote-counting.
“My office has resources for immigrant communities to ensure everyone knows their rights and can assist in immigration casework,” she said in a statement. “We know what Republicans are trying to do — intimidate Latino citizens so they stay at home and don’t exercise their right to vote, and we will not stand for it.”