So far, more than 65,000 people have been arrested nationwide since targeted mass arrests of suspected undocumented immigrants by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) began in late January. Nearly 5,000 of those arrests happened here in California. Yet not one person has been detained here in the southern San Joaquin Valley.
Why?
The answer is a complicated blend of politics, community loyalty and lack of opportunity. But as the raids continue, that may not be enough to keep federal agents from descending on small Valley communities with large populations of immigrants.
According to the Migrant Policy Institute there are 40,000 undocumented immigrants in Tulare County.
ICE may come, eventually
Tulare City Councilmember Jose Sigala thinks ICE will come eventually. The only thing keeping ICE out of Valley communities is the population size. The latest arrest quota for ICE is 3,000 per day — raised from 1,200-1,500 per day through June. That number of arrests, says Sigala, is why federal agents are leaving our area alone. But, he thinks it can’t last.
“You’re not going to get those numbers in small counties like Tulare,” Sigala said. “For me, it’s just a matter of time.”
The actual number of arrests by ICE is not a readily accessible number, since ICE does not provide arrest data. However, press reports put the number of arrests between January and April at around 66,000. If ICE met its arrest quotas at an average of 1,200 per day, then another 72,000 arrests have happened over the last 60 days.
To keep up with the demand placed on the agency, ICE might eventually be forced to include smaller population centers, rural areas where farmworkers are often in the country illegally. Sigala said the evidence that deeper enforcement is coming is in the recently passed federal budget.
“In the latest budget, they bulked up the ICE budget to more than the defense budget for Israel or bigger than the defense budget for Mexico,” he said.
ICE may already be targeting valley communities
Despite the lack of ICE arrests in the Valley — the arrest of 78 farmworkers in Kern County on January 7 were carried out by US Border Patrol on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security — they may be coming. Perhaps soon.
A June 10 bulletin from the United Farm Workers (UFW) union claimed it is “aware” of federal immigration enforcement activities in Tulare, Kern and Ventura counties. While no raids have taken place in Tulare and Kern counties since the warning, there have been mass arrests in Ventura County.
Last week, ICE raided farms in Ventura County, netting more than 360 arrests. Among those arrested, according to the local Fox News outlet, was 25-year-old George Retes. Retes, who was held without charges or access to a lawyer for three days, is both a US citizen and US Army veteran. He made authorities aware of his status, but was not released.
A worker at one farm included in the Ventura raids died during the enforcement action after falling from the roof of a greenhouse.
While the UFW bulletin did not give details about what ICE activities here it is aware of, ICE has made arrests under previous administrations by targeting courthouses. In 2018, ICE agents made arrests of alleged undocumented immigrants in the Fresno County Superior Court. They also turned up at the Tulare County Superior Court, but no arrests resulted.
UFW representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
Rumors of ICE in the Valley Drive Anxiety
Despite the lack of arrests so far, rumors of ICE presence here continue. Sigala receives them regularly, especially from his constituents. Most are easily dismissed, but some trouble him.
“What I heard is that Visalia has been approached by ICE for some stuff,” he said. “I imagine Visalia would be the first place they’d do stuff.”
Attempts to confirm the rumor with the Visalia Police Department were unsuccessful as of deadline. California law enforcement agencies are specifically prohibited from cooperating directly with federal immigration enforcement agencies, including ICE. The 2017 California Values Act prevents local law enforcement from spending any funding on immigration enforcement, as well as outlawing holding an arrestee for later detention by federal authorities for immigration reasons.
Local police cannot turn over their facilities or assign officers for use by immigration authorities. Locals may not transfer prisoners to feds without a judicial warrant, or participate in serving warrants for immigration enforcement actions. Certain exceptions are allowed.
This legal prohibition is little reassurance for Sigala’s constituents.
“My district’s over 90 percent Latino there’s a lot of undocumented individuals and people who are related to them,” he said. “It’s a real concern. There’s this caution everywhere. They see anything unusual, an unmarked car, I hear about it. The latest thing is white vans.”
ICE has transported its officers in unmarked white panel vans, placing those vehicles on the radar of concerned citizens and watchdog groups.
Local law enforcement apparently gets no notice from ICE when they descend on a community. The head of Tulare’s police told Sigala he doesn’t expect to be informed of ICE activity, and Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux issued a statement affirming his office is in compliance with the California Values Act, if reluctantly, and is not communicating with ICE:
“The sheriff’s office has not been in contact with ICE or received any information or briefings regarding any type of immigration enforcement in Tulare County. Senate Bill 54 (the California Values Act) is a failure, and the Sheriff opposes Senate Bill 54, however, that is the current law in California.”
ICE claim of focus on criminals – not true in California
ICE officials claimed in April that of the 66,463 “illegal alien” arrests made during the first 100 days of the second Trump administration, 75% were “criminal illegal aliens,” a redundant and unclear term. The statement from ICE termed its policy as “putting the worst first.” However, that does not appear to be their strategy in California.
According to the Los Angeles Times, of the 2,031 people arrested in Southern California in June, 68% had no criminal convictions of any kind; 57% had never been arrested. According to the Transactional Records Clearing House breakdown of ICE arrests nationally, 44% of detainees have no criminal record. Those listed as having criminal backgrounds include items such as traffic violations.
The July 16 story by the Times shows ICE arrests in the state tripled during June. The arrest rate in Southern California has slowed since a July 11 federal court ruling stopped ICE from conducting “roving patrols without suspicion and denying access to lawyers.” ICE has since stopped its raids of areas where day laborers gather, open-air markets and similar public places.
ICE agents must now provide proof of “reasonable suspicion” that arrestees are in violation of US immigration law before they are taken into custody.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong states:
“Defendants (ICE and DHS) may not rely solely on the factors below, alone or in combination, to form reasonable suspicion for a detentive stop, except as permitted by law: Apparent race or ethnicity; Speaking Spanish or speaking English with an accent; Presence at a particular location (e.g. bus stop, car wash, tow yard, day laborer pick-up site, agricultural site, etc.); or the type of work one does.”
Resistance to ICE raids growing throughout SJV
In Tulare, Sigala has received reassurance the Tulare Police Department will comply with state law. However, other federal agencies are apparently also seeking local information to aid with enforcement.
“One of the things we got assurance from our chief on is we won’t be sharing our information with ICE, like our license plate readers,” Sigala said. “Now we have to worry about the IRS, the FBI and other federal agencies.”
He’d like similar prohibition to prevent local resources being diverted to federal enforcement. Sigala is also working with other civic leaders in the South Valley to both protect and reassure residents.
“I’ve been keeping in contact with fellow council members,” he said. “We have a little network of things that we’re trying to work on.”
One of his efforts got no traction with his fellow members of the Tulare City Council. He wants police to help reduce confusion if ICE raids begin in that city.
“I brought up an item to discuss how our police interact with ICE, and there was no support for that,” Sigala said. “Once they roll up, an officer would ask to speak to a supervisor to make sure it’s a legitimate operation. That’s all I was asking for. And they should do it on a body-camera.”
While it is legal to ask federal agents to identify the agency they represent, they are not required to answer. There have been fake ICE raids, Sigala said.
“There’s a lot of guys out there dressing up like ICE,” he said. “There have been cases of people being harassed or even kidnapped by people pretending to be federal agents.”
Faith in the Valley, an organized group of religious leaders from several Valley counties, has taken on the role of monitoring ICE activities. Anyone who experiences or suspects ICE activity can report it by calling the Valley Watch Network at (559) 206-0151. The group is collecting the locations, descriptions of ICE activity, and pictures or video.
The organization can be found online at faithinthevalley.org/vwn/#ice-activity.
I understand that Sigala feels the need to take sides , however , I dont feel this issue is one that anyone should completely take sides one way or the other. I truly feel bad for immigrants that have been here before the borders were opened by the Biden Admin, some have been here for years and for some reason their Visas have expired or they’ve become undocumented by one way or another, I would have a hard time sending anyone into the cartel ran Mexico, on the other hand, we cannot allow everyone to stay here, some are criminals and the vast amounts of people , who took advantage of the open border policy of the last Admin. should be returned to Mexico….there are so many that it’s not possible to take a look at them on a case by case basis. There is no perfect solution to undo the damage that Biden allowed and encouraged. Sigala is causing undo fear in people by stating that fake Ice raids are happening, for him to tell the people of Tulare County that there are a lot of guys dressing up as ICE agents and harassing and even kidnapping people is very irresponsible and if he really believes that what he’s claiming is true then he is not made up of the material needed to be in his position. What’s more worrisome and should be questioned is where are all the undocumented children that came over the border durning the last admin.? These children were placed in sponsor homes, never to be seen again, that’s what I’d like to know . Why haven’t we heard from one undocumented immigrant wanting to know where their children are?
Very well said. I would like to see the numbers of “fake” agents or kidnappings. Those words spark fear. If your going to say such a thing give some REAL data that backs up that statement.
You only need one fake agent/kidnapping for it to be a problem, which is why it isn’t wise to allow officers to hide their faces and not identify themselves. The same with the arrests of actual citizens, or arrests of people in immigration courts, who are going through the correct legal process. The reality is, the fear and anxiety is bore by one specific group and if you are not in that group, you pretend like it isn’t an issue or say that protecting that group is a problem. Those people are living in fear regardless of what Sigala says and there isn’t much trust in this deep red county, a majority of whom voted for this.
I think Trump.had illegals working on his own properties before so stop.blamimg Biden. And alot of farmers & business people who vote republican hire illegals. But Ice should come and go inside the Tulsre co jail and look at the criminal records..not Just getting people going to work or taking there kids to school.